Young people urged to consider all pathways

“As the young people of NSW move into the next exciting stage of their lives, it’s important that they are aware of all the various pathways to a successful career,” he said.

“It’s also very important that they really understand their skills and strengths and align their career goals to not only what they will be good at, but also where the jobs will be in the future.”
With Australia currently experiencing a significant skills shortage across many industries, the National Skills Needs List highlights more than fifty occupations where there is great demand. Most of these can be accessed via completing an apprenticeship or traineeship or other vocational education course.

“There are more than 700 career options available through the Australian Apprenticeships program, covering a wide range of occupations, including traditional trades, but also many that young people may not be aware of, in the health, business, IT, engineering, telecommunications and child care industries, to name just a few.”

Recently, the Skillsroad 2018 Youth Census, the largest youth survey in Australia, found that young people undertaking an apprenticeship reported the highest levels of wellbeing out of all post-school pathways, followed closely by those engaged in a traineeship.

“The findings of the Youth Census on apprentice and trainee wellbeing rates emphasise how important it is that young people have access to holistic, unbiased career conversations as early on during their schooling as possible – and that includes information on vocational pathways,” said Mr Gilchrist.

“Young people, their parents and, in many cases, their teachers, are not aware of the outstanding job outcomes or advantages an apprenticeship or traineeship can offer – like getting paid while learning practical skills for your future, or avoiding accumulating financial debt like HECS or HELP.

“As a community we need to be mindful we are not pushing one particular career pathway, but rather we need to encourage young people to explore their personality traits, skills and what truly interests them so that they can select a pathway that plays to their strengths.”
“If you’ve missed out on a UAC offer today, or don’t get your ideal preference, you still have hundreds of training options to choose from,” he said.