The OECD Career Readiness project explores quantitative evidence to identify how teenage career-related activities and attitudes are linked to better adult employment outcomes. Evidence from multiple national longitudinal studies shows that secondary school students benefit by actively exploring their futures in work. One indicator of better employment outcomes is students reporting having career conversations with family members, peers and importantly, with subject teachers. This policy brief draws on evidence from the longitudinal studies and beyond to address the following questions:
- What is the evidence of career conversations being associated with better employment outcomes?
- What are career conversations and how common are they?
- How can schools optimise the chances of career conversations being useful to young people?
