Regular career conversations can have a positive impact on learning and career decisions.
Family conversations create a shared understanding of your child’s career ideas and direction. They are an important part of exploring, reflecting, and making choices. Your child will be better prepared to make career decisions.
Use your child's career ideas as a starting point
Tips for positive conversations
It can be hard to know where to start when it comes to talking about the future. Here are some tips to help to make conversations easier and more useful.
The right time and place
It’s important that you’re both in the right mood to chat. Follow their lead. If they are distracted and don’t want to engage suggest leaving it for another time.
Chatting while you’re doing something else, for example eating lunch, while out for a walk, washing dishes or on a journey might feel more relaxed.
Chat regularly and keep it light
Early and frequent conversations allow time for reflection and help to build career ideas.
If you start talking about subject and career ideas before there’s any pressure to make a decision your child will be better prepared. They will have the words and ideas they need to better explore their options.
Start with something that inspires them and listen
Find out about your child's aspirations. Don’t be tempted to try to push the conversation in a certain direction.
Really listen to what they have to say. Give them your attention. Don't interrupt or start planning what to say next. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude.
Questions and answers
Try to avoid ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers. Try starting questions with 'how', 'why' or 'what if' to open up the conversation.
Don't worry about knowing or finding answers immediately. It's useful to just explore options. If you identify anything that needs some research, jot it down.
A conversation isn’t about you quizzing your child. Why not get them to ask you the questions?
Use our tools together
Discover their personality type
The Buzz Quiz takes about 5 minutes to complete. By selecting a series of statements, each time from a choice of 2, your child can discover more about their strengths and personality.
The result will also suggest some jobs that are linked to their personality type.
You could both take the quiz and compare your results.
The Who am I? quiz is based on the Buzz quiz. It has fewer and more simple statements to choose between. The results will provide information about your child's strengths and types of work that might suit them.
Talk careers while gaming
CareersCraft is available on the Minecraft Marketplace.
If your child plays Minecraft, you could explore this environment together. There will be lots of prompts to chat about the world of work during each of the activities set at landmarks across Wales.
Explore jobs linked to their favourite subjects
Your child will have some subjects they enjoy more than others. Use Subjects and Jobs to find jobs linked to the ones they like best.
Each subject has a range of related job titles to explore. Each job title links to detailed information about that role.
Find jobs that match their skills and interests
Career Match Quiz takes about 10 minutes to complete. Answer a series of questions to get a list of personalised career ideas matched to interests and skills.
Careers Match Quiz includes a section where your child can rate their skills. It will then give ideas about the skills they need to work on.
Encourage your child to try this activity, especially if they don't have many career ideas.
Get detailed information about jobs
Whether you use your child's own career ideas, or a job suggestion generated by one of our tools, the next step is to find out more. Look together at how to get into a job. Find out what qualifications, skills and qualities your child will need and the expected future demand.
Job Information has details of over 700 jobs.
About Jobs is based on Job Information. It provides details about 32 different jobs in a simpler format.
Explore the information for a job together. Think about:
- What about the job surprised you or them?
- What things interest or excite them in the information?
- What aspects of the job make them less keen on the job?
- How do they feel about that role now they have researched it?
If they think this could be a job for them:
- What steps do they need to take to find out more?
- What help might they need to reach their goals?
If they have read something that makes them think this is not for them:
- Ask them why?
- What related jobs might they be interested in?
- Discuss other job ideas your child could look at
Explore Future Jobs Wales
You can use Future Jobs Wales with your child to find out more about some of Wales' most important industries.
You can also explore regional information and filter by your local authority. Information on jobs and skills for each region in Wales includes details on the jobs in demand, the skills employers are looking for and industries that will grow or develop in the future.
Together you can discover the jobs they could do now and in the future.
Learn about decision making styles and skills
You can discover more about your child’s decision-making style and help them to improve their skills by encouraging them to play our decision-making games.
Explore self-employment
Our booklet, ‘So, you want to be an entrepreneur?’ (Big Ideas Wales) has information and resources to help 12 to 16 year olds explore all aspects of setting up their own business.
We also have a guide to help parents and carers (Big Ideas Wales) to support a young person who wants to start a business (Big Ideas Wales).
We're here to help
Talking about the future can be difficult. Having someone different and impartial to speak to might make a careers conversation easier.
Our advisers are available to speak to you and your child. They can explore ideas and set actions for your child's next steps. Contact us if you would like help.