Food For Thought: Are the kids really alright?

#FoodForThought is a biweekly series serving up food for your brain, exploring news headlines, economic trends and workforce issues. As students in Australia prepare to receive their exam results, we explore the journey into the workplace and ask the question: Are young people under too much pre-career pressure? Subscribe and share your thoughts. 

The wait is almost over for high-school students across Australia as they prepare to receive their exam results. Students in NSW, Tasmania and ACT get their marks on Tuesday, with WA and SA students close behind on Thursday. Young people in Victoria have already received their scores. Alongside the Higher School Certificate (HSC), participating students who want to go to university will also receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) — used by universities to help them select students.

How can we support young people choosing their career path?

Student Joe Blackburn acknowledges the pressures placed on young people from family, society and the pressure students place on themselves to do well.

"Have I worked hard enough? Will I get the offer for the course I want?"

Founder of career coaching business Signature Success Georgia Roberts points to the role parents — already active members of the workforce — can play.

"Conversation around what is happening day to day in their jobs, after their job ends, when they come home from work, is great, because it's realistic, it's what's happening right now."

It's a sentiment mum-of-three Dianne Keegan shares: "It's about sitting down and communicating with them and having the conversation with them about what their interests are, what subjects they like to do that are related to those interests and perhaps what they want to do in the future."

Is university the only path to a successful career?

More students are attending university than ever. Research by UNESCO reveals that between 2000 and 2014, the number of students in higher education globally more than doubled to 207 million.

But it's not the only way. "It's not this linear path that a lot of parents, even students think that we will finish our HSC, we'll go to university and land a job," career development professional Amanda Chahine says.

"Life is a lot more messy than that."

Data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows there were 291,000 apprentices and trainees in training in Australia in December 2015. Chahine encourages young people to consider "all the post-school options equally," including apprenticeships and traineeships. 

"You can always study later in life and we know we all have to be lifelong learners."

I want to hear from you: Are you a young person trying to choose a career path? Who do you turn to for advice?

Perhaps you're a parent with tips to share about talking to your children about the workplace? Do you think students are well enough equipped to make career choices?

Did you attend university, do an apprenticeship, or perhaps on-the-job training? What would you do differently if you had the chance?

Are young people under too much pressure, or does the next generation of workers have more choice than ever? As Generation Z prepares to enter the workplace, what challenges do you think they'll face?

Share your thoughts in the comments and hit subscribe.