‘Aiming High’: Australian School Leavers' Career Aspirations and the Implications for Career Development Practice

Abstract

School leavers are aspiring to professional occupations in significant numbers. The availability of careers in the professions is considerably less than the numbers of aspirants. Those providing career counsel to school leavers are critically placed to provide the structure and information that will assist young people develop career plans that recognise the limitations of occupational availability. Young people can also be assisted to explore why a person works and the dominant discourses within which they live. The development of resilience and recognition of alternative perspectives will assist young school leavers manage the compromises many will inevitably confront in the years after leaving school.

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