It's never too early for parents and carers to help children develop the key skills, knowledge and behaviours they will need in life, and to encourage them to choose subjects they are passionate about as they progress through school.
Understanding the skills required
The world of work experience is changing, with the government's promise that every young person will have had two weeks’ worth of meaningful work experience by the end of year 11.
If you haven't read about the new vision for work experience, we recommend reading our overview of it here.
Crucial to its success is that parents/carers understand the skills, knowledge and behaviours that their young person will need to acquire in order to land the job, apprenticeship or further education place that they want.
Here are some resources to help you have those conversations that tease out the details.
Unifrog has developed a quick checklist guide for parents/carers to use to initiate careers conversations with their young person. It is designed to gauge how confident they are in what they want to do after school or college, with tailored responses that prompt the young person to think about their options and explore their passions and goals. Download the careers conversation starter guide here.
The National Careers Service has lots of advice on how to help a young person make career choices. Amazing Apprenticeships have a dedicated parent zone full of advice and resources. And Barclays has a LifeSkills programme that includes a tool called The Wheel of Strength that aims to find where a young person's strengths lie, which could help them figure out their aims and ambitions and what their next steps might be. Barclays also provide a virtual interview practice support tool.
The National Careers Service also provides specific careers and education advice for people with special educational needs, a disability or health condition, learning difficulties, or conditions like autism or ADHD. Click here to find this support.
MiVoice is a unique career and transition interview programme specifically designed for individuals with no or partial verbal communication skills, limited cognitive abilities, and selective information processing. MiVoice hopes to provide a voice and an opportunity for those often overlooked, allowing them to express their ambitions and receive tailored guidance for their future. Learn more about MiVoice here.
Skills Builder is a global movement of employers, educators, and impact organisations working together to ensure that one day, everyone builds the essential skills to succeed. It is keen to ensure that no child is left behind and that everyone has fair and equal access to opportunities to learn and develop essential skills like problem solving, creativity, planning, teamwork, speaking, listening, leadership, and adapting.
Talking Futures has created an interactive deck of cards to help you and your child discover together the qualifications and careers that interest them.
You can also find more resources on helping young people prepare for the future here.
Soft skills
Many employers have the philosophy of 'hire for attitude, train for skills'. The thinking being that technical and work-based skills that are essential for a certain job can be taught easier than teaching someone to have the right attitude and values. So it's really important that young people are developing 'soft skills' such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving before they get to the point where they are applying for full-time jobs.
To help them present themselves and interact with other people in a way that leaves a good impression, encourage them to practice talking with adults in everyday settings, such as delivery drivers and shop attendants. Encourage them to move past simply saying 'yes' or 'no' and engage in a little small talk (which can be big currency in the workplace). A gentle reminder to not always have their neck craned down looking at their phone can't hurt either.
Building up a young person's confidence
As much as confidence can boost a young person's future hopes, a lack of confidence can act as a substantial barrier to progression in life. Positive affirmations and encouragement that help them to see themselves as equals as they enter the adult world can really help, alongside the qualifications, skills and experience they pick up along the way.
How to choose the right subjects
The earlier a young person has an idea of what they might want to do as a job, the earlier they can set themselves on that path with relevant subjects at school, as well as extracurricular activities. The general rule is to encourage people to go with their heart, as if it's something they enjoy doing, they are more likely to be engaged and passionate about it, and in turn, be good at it.
The importance of work experience in building skills for the future
Read our Guide to Work Experience for Young People and Parents/Carers that will help you understand and explain why work experience matters, what it teaches a young person, how to find work experience that works for the individual, the platforms to search for placements, how to prepare for a placement, and how to assess how well it went after it's finished.
This video about two year 10 students' one-week placement at a local business shows how work experience can shape a young person’s journey - and why it’s never too early to start thinking about careers.
Hunting for the right type of work experience
If your child knows the kind of job or sector they want to work in, help them to research that area and learn about the different roles available, and see if any local employers in the sector are offering work experience. Virtual work experience placements might be more suitable for some students, especially younger ones or those with less confidence in heading straight into a workplace.
Do you know a good place for your child to do work experience?
Perhaps your own employer offers work experience, or would be open to it if you asked them. What about your friends' employers? Utilise your network to help find your child a placement that suits them. If you can offer help to other students who perhaps don't have the same network or good role models in their lives, then you'll be doing an extended service to the next generation.
Find local work experience placements
Check out this great directory of employers that have shown an interest in providing a work experience opportunity. Search for opportunities and use the details provided by the employer to contact them.
Another top place to search is the Future For All work experience finder.
Apprenticeships
There are a lot of myths about apprenticeships, but they can be the perfect next step for a young person (or an older person already in work).
You can search for apprenticeship opportunities via UCAS, the government website, the Best Apprenticeships website, Not Going to Uni,