Research carried out last year by GTI Media revealed that 58% of parents surveyed had been asked for careers advice by their children and that 79% of these parents felt that their child did not have a clear idea of what they wanted to do in the future. So, parents – here’s what you need to know about careers.

Parents have the greatest influence on career choices

Like it or not, most young people’s decisions about careers and qualification pathways are influenced very heavily by their parents. Not just what their parents tell them they want them to do, but also what parents did or do.

Don’t tell children what to do or be

Supporting a young person who is trying to decide on a career and the route that they will take to get there is not as simple as just telling them “this is what you should do”. Also, it is worth noting that the question “what do you want to do?” isn’t particularly useful for anyone other than the young person who has a totally clear idea of the career that they want to pursue. Many young people don’t have a clue what career they want and many complain that this is precisely the question that they get in their five-minute ‘careers advice’ slot and that the guidance they get doesn’t extend much beyond this.

Painful though it is, all you can do is guide. Surprising your child with the research you have done into the career that you have decided they ought to have and presenting them with a list of universities that they are to apply to is only ever going to end in disaster; there’s a fine line between guiding and dictating.

What you need to know about careers

One of the best things that you can do to support your child when they are making decisions about careers is to arm yourself with information, which you can introduce your child to. Information like, what is the future careers landscape like, what skills will employers look for in the future, and what are the pathways that can lead to these careers?

What will the future careers landscape look like?

The way that we work in the near future is expected to be very different to how we work now.

Working hours

Work patterns are likely to change as we become more globalised. The need to communicate or collaborate with workers in other time-zones is likely to dictate work hours and the need for flexibility.

Average working hours have reduced over the years and this might continue as more and more tasks become automated. Alternatively of course employers might find staff freed up to complete other tasks.

The office

The population is ageing. As people live longer and retire later, the office is likely to look more diverse, with several generations sharing office space.

The development of technology may make it possible for companies to either not have an office at all or to have a stripped-bare office with employees working from home.

Disruptive technology

Things like driverless cars are likely to have an effect on some jobs. For example, driverless lorries mean less need for drivers. It also means that there are likely to be less staff needed for roadside restaurants and hotels also.

Robotics

Robots will be able to complete many of the routine tasks that humans do at the moment. This doesn’t mean that humans won’t have any work. It just means that the work that humans do will change in many circumstances. It also means that careers in robotics (development and maintenance) are going to grow and the youth of today need to understand this is they are to prepare well for future employment.

Big data

Big data is already driving so much of what businesses do and most sectors will be affected by this. Regardless of whether a young person wants a career in marketing, a career in the health sector, a career in finance or a career in psychology, the chances are – their career prospects will be enhanced by the development of skills in computing and data analysis.

None of this is especially scary – people just need to be able to access information and understand the way that the world is changing. Sometimes simply planting the seed by asking “what will engineer or medicine look like in 5 years?” is enough to get a young person thinking about how to prepare for the future (and get ahead of the game).

So, parents - what you need to know about careers, is that they are not static – some careers will disappear, some careers will change in nature and some new careers will emerge as technology develops and as demographic and socio-economic shifts occur.