Agriculture is a significant contributor to the global economy and critical for future food and fibre production. To maximise the industry efficiencies and improve sustainability, a knowledgeable workforce is essential. Today's school-aged youth will be the next generation agriculture workforce. However, there is concern that today's youth are…

In the present descriptive qualitative study, we present the concept of vocational branding to provide a definition and explain how it may increase interest in a particular vocation or career. We define vocational branding as a set of stories, facts, and ideas communicating the personality, traits, and realistic benefits and challenges of a…

Although apprenticeships ease the school-to-work transition for youth, many apprentices seriously consider dropping out. While associated with noncompletions, dropout considerations are important to study in their own right, because they reflect a negative quality of apprenticeship experience and can impact apprentices' quality of learning and…

Despite continuous growth in the number of positions in Australia's Information Technology (IT) industry since 2015, only half of Australia's IT graduates go on to work in IT positions. A much-debated challenge for graduates is that the transition to work is complex and often demands several attempts. Less discussed is why school students choose…

Career development is a multifaceted, life-stage-dependant and discipline-specific process that is difference for every decision maker. During their time at university, students are building upon their career choice through discipline-specific activities yet many still find the transition into the workforce problematic, particularly for those in…

Narrative Career Therapy (NCT) is recognised in this paper as having relevance for career practitioners who are working to create meaning for their clients in complex work life situations. Re-authoring Career Narratives is described as a practice that involves principles of NCT and these principles contribute to the exploration of agentive…

Significant concerns have been raised about supplying sufficient numbers of qualified and experienced information and communications technology (ICT) workers to meet the ongoing demands of the industry. This paper explores how professional identity and self-interest shape the career choices of ICT students. In-depth semi-structured interviews were…

Each month, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) surveys a random sample of individuals who three months prior registered on mba.com--the GMAC™ website for prospective graduate business students. Their survey responses provide an inside look into the decision-making process of people currently considering applying to a graduate…

This paper analyses the interest content of all 1016 Australian occupations. These were classified according to vocational interests (i.e. outdoor, practical, scientific, creative, business, office, people contact, health, community, and computing), educational qualifications, and skill level, as well as in terms of the six Holland (RIASEC) types.…

An inquiry approach to learning can have a positive impact on students' attitudes to science and their science literacy skills; two attributes that have been in steady decline internationally. The professional development of teachers in inquiry science is one way to ensure that teachers are equipped with effective strategies to teach science,…

Concerns are being raised about the increasing demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates exceeding supply. Early adolescence is an especially critical time when our youth are forming beliefs about themselves as learners, along with establishing career related goals. In this qualitative research, we considered the…

Inspiring children to pursue a career in science is a worthy pursuit for many reasons. One way to achieve this is to actively engage children in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning from an early age. However, it is not always possible to integrate all the STEM fields in one activity. Rather, careful consideration of…

Between 1983 and 1993, grade 7/8 to grade 12 apparent retention rates more than doubled and secondary schools developed vocational education and training (VET) programmes as alternative pathways through secondary school. Previous research indicates that participation in VET programmes is associated with having low-educated parents and/or attending…

Three competing models of the career decision-making thought processes of adolescents of high intellectual ability were tested in this study. Survey data were collected from 664 intellectually gifted Australian adolescents and analyzed using structural equation modeling procedures. The finally accepted, optimal model suggested that, regardless of…

Each month, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) surveys a random sample of individuals who three months prior registered on mba.com--the GMAC™ website for prospective graduate business students. Their survey responses provide an inside look into the decision-making process of people currently considering applying to a graduate…