As we approach the final term of Year 12, students across Australia are busy making decisions about their future. Will they pursue a trade or traineeship, take a gap year or work at home, or possibly go straight to university?

Critical to making these decisions is access to quality careers advice, which can range from everything from university handbooks, job profiles and talks with career guidance counsellors or a specific vocational or professional group.

But as Professor Michael Dockery from Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre found in his latest co-authored study, the amount and kinds of careers information students receive is dependent on their socioeconomic status. Dockery's study also found significant differences between the amount and kinds of careers advice given at private and public schools.

The issue is important, says Dockery, as literature suggests that the amount and type of career advice provided can have a bearing on one's future work trajectory, and it also brings up issues of equity and disadvantage. 

 

As we approach the final term of Year 12, students across Australia are busy making decisions about their future. Will they pursue a trade or traineeship, take a gap year or work at home, or possibly go straight to university?
Critical to making these decisions is access to quality careers advice, which can range from everything from university handbooks, job profiles and talks with career guidance counsellors or a specific vocational or professional group.
But as Professor Michael Dockery from Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre found in his latest co-authored <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-021-00469-1">study</a>, the amount and kinds of careers information students receive is dependent on their socioeconomic status. Dockery's study also found significant differences between the amount and kinds of careers advice given at private and public schools.
The issue is important, says Dockery, as literature suggests that the amount and type of career advice provided can have a bearing on one's future work trajectory, and it also brings up issues of equity and disadvantage.&nbsp;
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