industry & research
campusreview.com.au
Careers
advice
failing
students
Many young people are
disenchanted with their career
choices, and most blame
educational institutions.
Steve Shepherd interviewed by Loren Smith
O
ur educational institutions are
failing our young people, a
survey has determined. Youth
career coaching firm TwoPointZero asked
1000 Australians aged 16–24 a range of
questions about their career aspirations
and realities. It found a gulf between the
two. For instance, 56 per cent are in full-
time work that bears no relation to their
studies. Over half regretted their subject
choices at university, while roughly a
quarter reported being unsure about their
career direction.
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Further, almost half of respondents had
‘lost hope’ about pursuing their career
passion.
A majority (70 per cent) laid blame
for their career woes on educational
institutions. Just 4 per cent said school
staff influenced their career decisions.
Steve Shepherd, TwoPointZero chief
executive, suggested our culture’s “degree
obsession” might have contributed to this
apparent crisis. He submitted that one
fix may be to “provide better guidance in
schools and at a younger age”.
“Careers advice hasn’t changed since
I was at school,” he told us. “Yet the job
market is completely different.
“It’s like careers are still living in the
1970s, being delivered by part-time people
who are not fully trained experts.
“It’s almost like going to your accountant
to get your car fixed.”
Campus Review recently sat down with
Shepherd to discuss the survey, which found
that young people are pretty miserable about
their career options, choices and guidance.
CR: What was the most stark finding from
this survey?
SS: Probably the fact that 55 per cent of
all young Australians regret the electives
that they chose from an educational
perspective. I would combine that with
the finding that 75 per cent of all young
Australians think their educational institute
has not helped them to make the right
career choices along the way.
The key message here is that students
are looking for more help in setting
themselves on the right career path, rather
than just the right study path.
What are the roles of educational
institutions in terms of giving career advice?
I think they change. In the old days the
role was to provide an education, and
then the employment market would take
care of those qualified students coming
out of school and the tertiary system.
However, the world of work has
changed dramatically in the last 30 years.
Many of the entry-level jobs that existed
when these young people’s parents went
to school don’t exist anymore. They’ve
been sent offshore to cheaper labour
markets, or they’ve been replaced by
technology. Finding the right career path,
finding entry-level roles, has become
much harder.
Also, students are being bombarded by
information about ‘finding what you love’,