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National Skills Week careers education pivotal in providing pathways out of poverty

25 August 2025

Vocational Education Training (VET) study and career pathways will be in the spotlight as part of National Skills Week 2025 (August 25 to August 31), beginning today.

The Smith Family’s Chief Executive Officer, Doug Taylor, says National Skills Week is important for building students’ knowledge about post-secondary school pathways, and was a timely reminder of the need for effective and evidence-based careers education to begin as early as possible – particularly for students experiencing disadvantage.

“We know parents of young people experiencing disadvantage often have had limited interaction with the workforce,” Mr Taylor says.

“As a result, their children do not have access to the level of professional networks or career-based knowledge that their peers from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are afforded.

“It’s difficult for young people experiencing disadvantage to visualise pathways from secondary school into tertiary studies and the workforce without career experiences and knowledge.”

For the past five years, The Smith Family has been delivering the Growing Careers Project to provide over 86,000 places for students to participate in multiple careers programs across their secondary school journey.

The Growing Careers Project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Education.

Research shows that young people who recall four or more encounters with the workplace whilst in secondary school are more likely to be studying or in the workforce in their 20s.

An evaluation of the Growing Careers Project is examining how offering students a range of career learning opportunities can benefit them and contribute to stronger career outcomes.

“The purpose of the Growing Careers Project is to add to the evidence base around the difference that career education can make for young people experiencing disadvantage,” Mr Taylor says.

“The research is clear – the impact of effective, evidence-based career programs can have a life-changing impact on young people.”

The latest NAPLAN results found that students whose parents had not been in paid work for the past 12 months were almost eight times more likely to need additional support in numeracy compared to students whose parents were in senior management or professional roles, and seven times more likely in reading.

The results showed the potential impact that the career prospects of one young person could have on future generations.

“Students experiencing disadvantage are already facing extra barriers compared to their peers in the classroom,” Mr Taylor says.

"We know that low academic achievement leaves students more susceptible to disengaging with school and not finishing Year 12, which impacts tertiary study and career prospects.”

Media contacts:

Andrew Dickson | National Media Manager (National) - 0421 285 529 | andrew.dickson@thesmithfamily.com.au
Carla Horton | Senior Media Advisor (QLD & WA) - 0423 618 776 | carla.horton@thesmithfamily.com.au
Reid Jermyn | Media Advisor (VIC, SA & NT) - 0412 803 566 | reid.jermyn@thesmithfamily.com.au
Ben Chenoweth | Senior Media Advisor (NSW, ACT & TAS) - 0413 346 934 | ben.chenoweth@thesmithfamily.com.au

The Smith Family is a national children’s education charity that helps young Australians experiencing disadvantage to create better futures for themselves through harnessing the power of education. We partner with around 800 Australian schools and work with over 162,000 children and young people experiencing disadvantage access our education support programs to help them overcome . For more information, visit thesmithfamily.com.au