The big decision:

career choices and how to make them.

If possible, encourage them to mute or put away their mobile phone and any gadgets or electronic devices.

Encourage regular breaks: Breakfast, lunch and breaks could be used catch up on social media, virtual playtime, gaming and other extra-curriculars. Reserve time for some form of physical exercise. And constantly encourage them to eat healthily, with plenty of water, fruit and veg, and a balanced diet.

Help them to reflect on their learning: Support them to be flexible and be prepared to tweak their strategy if it’s not perfectly working for them. Like all new routines, the first few days are always about finding their feet. Give them time to adjust. Don’t be too tough on them take it nice and steady, giving them enough grace and space to adjust to this new ‘normal’ learning lifestyle.

Be flexible: Motivate them to be flexible, positive and open-minded whilst discovering their ideal learning style and approach. Use this time to nurture maturity within them and help them develop a genuine love for learning. Remember it’s all about quality not quantity, and there are times when less is more.

Encourage them not to hesitate to ask for help: Discuss with them about any challenges they might be facing. Initiate a conversation about any difficulties they are encountering whether academic, technology-related, stress/depression, social or anything else. You are no doubt aware of or can Google websites or YouTube videos you can refer them to for reinforcement and support, if necessary.

Help them develop a high-achiever mentality: Their success in their education and career is highly dependent on the effort they are going to put in now. If they are dreaming of a high and fast lifestyle, this is the time to make it happen. In most cases, ‘high achievers aren’t born, they’re a product of hard-work and a successdriven mentality’.

Does this sound familiar to you? It s common for teenage children to struggle with the concept of following a career, life in the world of work, and what they might like to do for the rest of their lives. These are huge decisions for anyone, but at this tender age, they can be overwhelming and bewildering.

As a parent, it’s likely that ultimately, you’ll want your child to be happy in what they do, that they earn a good living, and perhaps that there is career progression as they gain more knowledge and experience.

Some children naturally gravitate towards a chosen career or subject that they have an affinity with. They remain focused and motivated to do well, with a clear idea in their mind about where they are heading next.

For many though, things are not so clear, which is why we have compiled this article to help explore options and to guide you and your child through the vast world of career choices.

Fourstepsforyourchildtogetstarted

1.Assess interests, strengths, and weaknesses: To make the right choice, your child needs to spend some time getting to know themselves, to identify their strengths and weaknesses. They should also assess their interests and values. This will help focus on certain areas but also eliminate a number of career choices for which they are simply not suited.

2. Explore career options: Spend time with them researching the broader jobs market, professions and career paths to explore the wide range of careers and job roles available, some of which may not have occurred to your child before. Make a note of what interests them to begin narrowing down options.

3. Create a short list: Combine what your child has learned about themselves with the options they’ve discovered that sound of interest.

Perhaps look at some of these roles in more detail, and try to talk to any friends or family members who may be working in these fields to find out more. This exercise is really useful in enabling your child to imagine what a life pursuing a particular career choice might be like.

4. Act: Set achievable goals and have a career plan. A career plan should outline how your child will attain their chosen career, what qualifications and experience are needed.

Career choice online tools

Don’t worry too much if the above exercise didn’t result in that ‘light bulb’ moment for your child.

There are many different quizzes, articles, selfhelp guides and tests available on the internet that strive to guide your child in their career choices. Read on to find the best websites to help you get all the advice you will need to help you.

Morrisby Profile

Morrisby is an impartial decision-making companion and psychometric test. There is a small charge for using it, though you could try the free practice tests to sample the service. It covers all important decision points including:

• Careers guidance, suggestions, information, career requirements and routes to careers.

• Options at 13/14 (GCSEs, Scottish Nationals, IGCSEs, MYP, High School Diploma)

• Options at 15/16 (A-Levels, Scottish Highers, IBs, Pre-Us, BTECs, Apprenticeships)

• Options at 18 (Higher education, subjects, courses, universities, apprenticeships, and further education)

• Planning – Pathways, helping keep options open, and interviews

The Morrisb y Pr ofile psychometric test provides an objective statement of a person’s underlying abilities, personality and career preferences. The test is verified by the British Psychological Society and will provide you with an objective analysis of your:

• Reasoning (solving difficult abstract problems)

• Verbal ability (being good with words)

• Numerical ability (being good with numbers)

• Perceptual ability (being good with diagrams and pictures)

• Spatial ability (being good with plans and 3D shapes)

• Mechanical ability (knowing how things work and fit together)

• Manual speed (working quickly with your hands)

• Manual skill (working carefully with your hands)

• Awareness (noticing people and things around you)

• Flexibility (enjoying change and variety)

• Inner conviction (being sure of your own capabilities)

• Decisiveness and confidence (having ideas, taking the initiative)

Once the results have been processed, your child will receive a detailed Profile and Guidance Report with key findings and career recommendations. The report will also help your child to discover more about their strengths and abilities, find out how to make the most of their skills, work out their personal goals and explore new career opportunities. The report will also include career suggestions and information about further education and training.

All of this is available via their website. https:// www.morrisby.com/

National Careers Service – Skills Assessment

The National Careers Service offers a range of assessments to help find out about career options that might be ideal for your child. The ‘Discover Your Skills and Careers’ Assessment is a 5 – 10 minute assessment to help your child discover what job categories and job roles might suit them. The ‘Skills Health Check’ Assessments are a set of four assessments covering personal skills and six on work activities, each taking 15-30 minutes to complete. These assessments are a brilliant way to help your child decide which types of jobs might be right for them and they might also find the output handy for preparing their CV, job applications and interviews.

Visit the National Careers Service website for more details. https://nationalcareers.service.gov. uk/

Get My First Job

The Get My First Job career personality test is designed to test your child’s personality and then provide a list of careers that are a good match. Before you have signed up, there is an option to take a quick test that will take just 5 minutes and offer a few different choices. However, once you do sign up, your child will be able to take the full test and be given a range of different careers with information about how to jump on certain career ladders and what opportunities are available in those careers.

Take a look here https://www.getmyfirstjob.co.uk/ Resources/CareerQuiz.aspx

Prospects Planner

This is another website offering a quiz to find help identifying career options. In order to take the quiz, your child will first have to register but then they can take the test for free. The quiz has numerous questions to help gauge strengths and weaknesses. At the end of the quiz, you will receive a number of different career suggestions that matched your child’s answers. You can then click on each of those careers to find out more including the expected salary, qualifications needed, and skills and work experience that are required or preferred.

You can take the quiz on their website https:// www.prospects.ac.uk/planner

16 Personalities

16 Personalities is another website that allows childrentotakeafreepersonalitytesttodetermine what their best strengths are and what their weaknessesare.Youcanthenusethisinformation to determine the type of career choices that may be best to pursue.

Take the 16 Personalities test https:// www.16personalities.com/

Career Key

For a small fee, Career Key offers genuine advice and professional help in order to help people find the career of their dreams. On their website, they offer a personality test based on John Holland’s theory of the six different personality types Career Key’s test will help your child find out which personality type they have and what career and university course would best suit them.

Find out more https://www.careerkey.org/

Career Hunter

Career Hunter offers a free test (on the basis that you sign up) to help find a career based on your child’s answers to their questions. Once taken, the test will offer a number of accurate career matches and a personalised career report. There are different tests including verbal reasoning, career motivators and work personality to help identify appropriate career choices.

Take the Career Hunter test. https://test. careeraddict.com

Red Bull Wingfinder

This test has been developed by Red Bull and university professors from University College London and Columbia University New York Your child can take a free 35-minute test that will determine which personality type they have and divided into four categories – connections, creativity, thinking, and drive.

You will need to sign up but once your child has completed the test they will receive a free 19-page report outlining their strengths and weaknesses. They will then also be given advice from Red Bull athletes that have the same strengths as them.

More details are available here https://www. redbull.com/int-en/wingfinder

The Big Five Project

The Big Five Project offers a very in-depth, free personality test. There are 61 questions for your child to take to find out more about what they are like as a person. Although it doesn’t advise specifically on career choices, it is completely anonymous and offers guidance on what type of personality type your child has, which can be helpful when considering career options.

Find out more about personality types https:// www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

Around 80% of young people stay in education after completing their GCSE/ National 5s. The main options to consider are:

Vocational qualifications

These tend to have a more practical approach, equipping with both the hands-on skills and practical knowledge to undertake the job. They range from those with a ‘Tech’ orientation (generally common in fields such as engineering, IT and Science) to those with an ‘Applied’ orientation (generally common in broader fields such as business, social science or sport).

The most popular further education progression option after GCSE/ National 5s is the Level 3 qualification. These include Level 3 NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) or SVQs (Scottish Vocational Qualifications), BTEC Nationals, Advanced and Progression Diplomas, BTEC, OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technicals, T Levels and CACHE Level 3 Diplomas. Completing this level will enable entry into University, Degree Apprenticeships, some Training Schemes and a range of technical or supervisory roles

Apprenticeships (and traineeships)

This option is common with those who are fed up with full-time classroom education but want to practically learn a new trade, profession or set of skills. An apprenticeship is typically a full-time paid job with integrated on-the-job and college training built in. Apprenticeships that are ideal for school leavers tend to be Levels 1, 2, and 3 and their duration usually ranges from one and three years.

Traineeships tend to be unpaid training and work experience opportunities to help prepare you for an apprenticeship or work. They tend to be short –could be a few weeks or could last up to six months. They are popular for those who didn’t get a good grade in Maths and English as they often integrate Maths and English training to boost your chances of employability or of joining an apprenticeship.

A-levels, Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers

Generally, these typically adopt a more academic study approach with a course structure focussing more on written work and exams. A Levels/ Scottish Higher and Advanced Higher are considered the main (but not the only) route into university/ higher education. Most people usually study three subjects over a 2-year period with main exams taken at the end of the course.

Tips for choosing the right subjects at A-level

• Choose subjects they are strong at. Your child is more likely to be motivated to study a subject for which they have a natural ability. A good rule of thumb is to pick a subject they have sufficient ability to get at least a Grade 6 (B) in their GCSE/ National 5s. Choosing subjects in which they are predicted to get strong GCSE grades increases their chances of great A-levels and better prospects with wider degree/employment options.

• Choose subjects they are familiar with and enjoy. Again, your child will most probably be more motivated and engaged studying a subject they ‘to some extent’ enjoy. Take time to familiarise with the range of subjects available at A-levels including some that are new to them

It is a good idea to consider a subject they have a connection with:

- Someone who loves researching, developing an argument, and logical presenting ideas should consider subjects like history, sociology or law.

- Someone who loves the outdoors, nature and environment-related issues may consider subjects like Geography, Biology or Environmental Science.

• Align the subjects to career aspirations. Most universities and employers give guidelines of what subjects are prerequisites for each degree or apprenticeship. For instance:

- Pharmacy generally require Chemistry, plus at least one from Biology, Maths and Physics

- Medicine generally require Chemistry, plus at least one from Biology, Maths and Physics

- English generally require English Literature and/or English Language

- Engineering generally require Maths and one related subject such as Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Science, Computing, Design

• Avoid combining overlapping or ‘too similar’ subjects. Examples of combinations that could be classified as too similar, overlapping or too narrow and might cause issues:

- Biology and Human Biology

- Business and Economics

- Business and Accounting

- Drama and Media Studies

• Minimise ‘non-preferred’, new and nontraditional subjects. Try to have a maximum of one of these less popular subjects. Examples of subjects that fall under this list include: – PE

– Music – Media Studies – Drama – Textiles –Dance – Accounting – Home Economics

• Prioritise ‘facilitating’ subjects. Facilitating subjects are commonly preferred A-level subjects. If possible, include at least one or two of these in your combination. Examples of subjects that fall under this list include: –Mathematics – English – Geography – Biology

– Chemistry – Physics – History – Classical / Modern languages

• Should you take three or four subjects? Our recommendation is to concentrate on the minimum required 3 subjects as much as possible, unless you feel you really need a wider choice, want to impress in your Oxbridge application or are very convinced the increased workload is not going to be any issue.

• Research. Read the syllabuses and consult teachers and Careers Advisors

• Lastly decide whether FE college, sixth Form college or sixth form is preferred. Sixth Forms tend to focus more on the academic subjects, typically A Levels. Most colleges tend to provide a much wider range of courses at different levels including vocational qualifications and in most cases A Levels as well. The learning environment at college tends to be more relaxed, with a less congested timetable, a more casual dress code (freedom to wear what you want) and a more diverse age range.

• Before making a choice, your child should: www.studential.com/student-underground/categories/a-levels icould.com uses the power of personal stories to inform young people’s career choices. https://icould.com/explore https://www.ucas.com/further-education

- consult with teachers and Careers Advisors and any relative/friends who have progressed to Sixth Form/Sixth Form College/FE College.

- visit the different institutions and have a firsthand experience of what it’s like to be at a Sixth Form/Sixth Form College/FE College.

- consider their career aspirations and research where the majority of people in their preferred profession/trade have studied.

Useful Websites for More Information.

Student Underground is an alternative UK Education blog.

UCAS helps to inspire & empower people to make aspirational choices about higher education & learning.

The Uni Guide delivers the high-quality, expert advice & guidance, independently and free of bias. www.theuniguide.co.uk/advice/a-level-choices

Informed Choices is written by admissions directors from the 24 Russell Group universities & provides information on why subject choice matters. www.informedchoices.ac.uk/qualifications

GOV.UK – Apprenticeships provides practical advice on what an apprenticeship is & how to find one. www.gov.uk/become-apprentice

National Careers Service provides information, advice & guidance to on learning, training & work. https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk is the essential springboard into the job market for school & college leavers. www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/school-leaver-options https://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/

Not Going To Uni showcases the alternatives to the standard university route to school & college leavers.