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Parents can be a great support to their children in choosing a career or course that helps them realize their full potential. However to attempt to direct your child’s career choices based on your perception of what is in their best interest may be well-meaning, but it could lead them to make choices that are not in tune with the most suitable opportunities for them given their interests and aptitudes.
Educational and training programmes are changing constantly.
A parent’s role in supporting a son or daughter to select the most suitable course to progress their career journey should be to encourage them to approach the process with an open mind.
Think of what your child’s strongest aptitudes are and help them identify educational and/or training options that are in tune with them.
Accepting that a high points course in a top university may not be the best fit for your child is not easy; some parents even feel it is a sign they have somehow failed in their parenting role.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
How your son or daughter learns most effectively plays a huge role in selecting the most appropriate course or training option.
Aptitude tests can help identity learners’ strengths across a range of abilities if they are not sure themselves.
Remember: everyone is different and the combination of factors that leads to their most effective learning style can vary.
There is a wide and ever-expanding range of third-level courses, further educational opportunities, apprenticeships, traineeships and employment opportunities for young people today.
Parents need to realise that helping and supporting a son or daughter find a match with a course or other option that plays to their existing strengths helps them grow in confidence and self-belief.
It also consolidates their sense of self-worth, leads to healthier relationships, positive mental and physical health and puts them in a very positive place to enable them to enter the labour market in a role or function in which they will excel and prosper.
The bible for information on higher or further education courses is qualifax.ie, a website operated by Qualifications and Quality Ireland
It has an advanced search facility that enables users to fine-tune their course explorations to narrow down the number of courses to a manageable number for detailed research.
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