Further education

If you compare your own career path with your daughters’ post university plans, one of the main differences you will see is the amount of choice nowadays – not only because there are now careers not even invented when you were younger, but because there are now so many acceptable routes.

Some girls will have a clear idea of their career path once they leave higher education. Some will have followed vocational courses that will lead them directly to the workplace. Others may have developed ideas while studying non-vocational degrees. Internships during university vacations can help to firm up plans. Some may still have no idea what they would like to do, and this can be mystifying, worrying and frustrating for parents!

It may be reassuring to know that all of the following are common, and acceptable to future employers:

• post-university gap years
• a further qualification which is academic rather than vocational
• a vocational course
• a company graduate training programme
• direct entry into a job.

Be prepared too for intense competition for certain jobs: it may take a while for your daughter to secure a position she really wants.
Some will take a while to settle down into a particular career. It is predicted that young people will have a number of changes of career in their working lives, so it is helpful to encourage her flexibility, and the development of transferrable skills.

It may be the last thing on her mind at the moment, but if your daughter wants at some stage to combine work with a family, and/or is very ambitious, then encourage her to check out how flexible companies are in enabling women to return to work successfully, and whether there are female role models in the hierarchy.