SOUTH Australia’s graduating high school students will start receiving their Year 12 results and university offers next week.
While this can be an emotional time, Career Development Association of Australian national president Wanda Hayes said students should not panic and focus on what they can achieve with their results.
“If they do not receive the results or offers they were expecting, they should start thinking about other possible pathways,” Ms Hayes said.
She said school leavers must remember the ATAR only has one purpose and that was to get students into their first tertiary level program.
“I know some students believe their results define them for the rest of their lives,” she said.
“But once they are into a university program the rest is up to them.”
If students can not get into any university course, Ms Hayes suggests enrolling into a university preparation course, which will also give them a new rank at the end.
Ms Hayes said while statistics show university graduates have higher workplace participation, university is not the right career path for everyone.
“There are many career paths that do not require a degree,” she said.
“Students should also look into the study opportunities available at TAFE and other RTOs.
“Some employers actually prefer people without a degree, that way they can train them while on the job.”
But at the end of the day, she said these decisions were different for everyone, so if they are struggling, they should get some advice.
“Getting some advice is a smart move,” Ms Hayes said.
“It could be from an accredited career development practitioner at the school they have just come from, a tertiary admittance centre, the university or TAFE.”
