My Future

This is an excellent site intended for anyone planning their career (particularly students aged 16-24), or anyone assisting others who are planning their career (e.g. parents, teachers). The site is a particularly useful resource for the 'finding out more about you' stage of the process. Extensive information is provided on career planning, work and employment trends, specific occupations, training and course information, scholarships and other funding opportunities, and obtaining and starting work.

The site is not specifically for students, but it contains very relevant information for subject choices. There is a lot of information on this site and some may find it difficult to find the information they need quickly.

Job Guide 2005

The Job Guide is mainly intended for students in Year 10-12 to assist with making subject choices. It provides an in-depth look at a range of occupations, and their education and training pathways to help students plan their high school subjects. Information is provided on around 1500 occupations and includes related links for further information on each occupation. Other information is also provided on work trends, looking for and getting a job.

Relevant courses for each state are given, although students should check the specific entry requirements for the courses they are interested in before making subject choices. The site does not include information on more general occupations (such as high level management positions) as they apply to a range of occupational backgrounds. Salary and wage information is also not included but links are provided to other websites (such as my future) which include this data.

Workplace

The Australian Workplace is a guide to employment information, government assistance, jobs, training, working conditions and Indigenous Employment Centres. This site also provides access to Job Search and WageNet.

New Apprenticeships

This website is intended for students, career advisors, employers and job seekers. Information is included on what a new apprenticeship involves, how to find one, and where to get more local information. The site includes a comprehensive list of links to training and other relevant websites.

Hobsons Guides

The Hobsons Guides website aims to help people of all ages find courses of study across Australia in a large number of fields, as well as training for organisations. Course information provided includes costs, admission requirements, length, detailed profiles and ratings of the courses by graduates.

The Careers File

This site may be useful for students who are interested in working in roles associated with agriculture, natural resource management and food processing. The site allows students, their parents and teachers, and other users to read about the work undertaken in specific jobs, explore the opportunities arising from University courses and other training, and read advice given by past graduates.

< a href="http://year12whatnext.gov.au/">Year 12 - what next?

This is a guide specifically for year 12 students to help them plan further study and training. It also gives information on options such as work and travel, and future employment opportunities.

Going to Uni

Students can research and compare all courses offered by universities and higher education providers using the Course Information system. Information is also provided on universities, applications, fees and student support.
Department of Education, Science and Training Careers.

The career development section of this site provides useful links for students, employers and career advisors. Information is also given on Government education and training programs and research.

O*NET OnLine

Provides comprehensive job descriptions for a very large range of occupations. Descriptions include typical work tasks and activities, required knowledge, abilities and skills, the usual work context or environment, the level of education and training required, interests and work values that apply to the role, related jobs and wages and employment trends. The site also includes a checklist that allows you to search for a job that matches your skills. However, the site is American so some information (on wages etc) may not apply.

The O*Net Resource Centre also has career exploration tools to explore your interests and abilities, but these have been suggested to give inaccurate results (see here) and should only be used as a rough guide. Professional career counselling and assessment will give you a much better picture of your strengths.

Occupational Outlook Handbook

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information (for Americans, although most occupational information is relevant to Australians). The handbook is designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. Revised every two years, the Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.

Career Key

The Career Key is a free service to help you with career choices, career changes, career planning, job search, and choosing a university course or training program. A career interests test is provided for a small fee. The site is American so some information provided may not be relevant to Australians.