Career choices for high school students are heavily emphasised and many life skills lessons are spent advising young people about the type of work they might like to do in the future. The volume of information that gets shared amongst learners is incredible and the aim is to try and alert them to as many types of options as there are out there. This planning is sometimes successful and other times it simply goes in one ear and out the next. No amount of training can prepare young people for the jump between school and work or school and further studies, but it is important to provide them with tips about how to appeal to employers, so that they might find work or internships.

Information on work experience and career choices for high school students normally only starts being shared with them in their last two years of schooling. Nevertheless, at this stage of their academic careers there can seem to be limitless options. This is a remarkable time in their lives and many things are changing. Planning this change can feel frustrating for them, but it’s important to advise them that a plan is always helpful. Sometimes they might want to pursue further technical training, and other times they might want to pursue tertiary studies. These choices should be theirs to make because forcing a young person to do something that they don’t want to can have devastating effects on their lives and your relationship with them. Tips are useful, but not always wanted. It’s sometimes best to let them discover for themselves.

The best thing you can do is provide them with suggested employers who might be able to offer them internships. That way they can experiment with the field of work that interests them, and choose the appropriate post high school studies for that choice. The world is their oyster, which is exactly why there are so many career choices for high school students.