The report, Career development supporting young Australians: A literature review, has been published jointly by the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) and the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), and commissioned by Youth Connect. It outlines the existing careers programs and resources available to young Australians.

The main findings are that:

• Young people need early intervention  to ‘strengthen and inform social networks and raise aspirations’.
• Careers advice and education should be integrated into the school curriculum.
• More interaction with role models, mentors, employers and the workplace is needed.
• Tailored approaches to meet the specific needs of young people, particularly disadvantaged youth, are needed.
• Parents, educators, social services, community and employers need to be engaged with young people.

Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and those in regional, rural and remote locations are particularly vulnerable and may have much more limited exposure to various career possibilities than those from urban areas. And today it is not just young people without qualifications who are finding it tough: ‘ “difficult transitions” are now being experienced by a greater proportion of young people, even those with tertiary qualifications, and not just by those historically labelled as disadvantaged’.

The authors emphasise that trained careers practitioners and teachers are vital, and that parents need to play a role too. Employers can help in boosting the confidence of young jobseekers by providing careers talks or work experience; UK research shows that these experiences have a direct and measurable effect on the ability of young people to find work.

To download the 58-page report from the BSL website, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.