Education & Career Guidance Tips

Parents play place a crucial role in ECG with their children as they:

• Help your children discover their interest and strengths;

• Guide them to make informed education and career choices that will impact their future significantly

• Help them to find relevance in the subjects they are studying and hence, 

• encourage them to be more motivated to work hard and do well in school

Parents can help their children realise their dreams by:

Showing concern and support

• It is important for your children to know how much you care about their future and your willingness to support them.

• Instead of steering them in a particular journey, you could listen to them.

Exploring

• Introduce a variety of occupations to your children and help them discover more about the different occupations. A valuable resource is MySkillsFuture portal, ‘ www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/secondary’. Your child has a personal account.

• Encourage your child to complete the self-assessment tools (Career Interests, Skills Confidence, Work Values, Learning Styles) in the portal so as to gain a better understanding of his/her interests, abilities and future aspirations.

• A cautionary note is not to rely on your own past experience or knowledge as educational policies may have changed and new pathways are created. It is important to stay updated.

Engaging in Discussions

Have casual conversations with your children about their aspirations. Keep an open mind and allow them the freedom to dream. You could use your child's results from the MySkillsFuture self-assessments and discuss further educational plans. At the tertiary level, there are a myriad of educational opportunities present. You can access our Higher Education webpage as a starting point of discussion. 

Providing Opportunities

Provide opportunities (such workplace visits and volunteer work) and resources (such as books and enrichment programmes) that can support your children's aspirations and broaden their horizons.

Working with Schools

Discuss your children's educational and career prospects with their teachers. They would be in a good position to offer education and career guidance as well. To help your child to make informed choices of their educational and career pathways, do encourage your child to speak with our school ECG Counsellor to explore and engage in self-discovery of their Values, Interests, Personality and Strengths (V.I.P.S). Your child can book an appointment with our ECG Counsellor through this link: https://go.gov.sg/dssecgcappointmentbooking  

Decision-making and Action-planning

Ask your child what he/she wants to achieve and set some goals. Help your child to come up with a plan on how he/she intends to attain these goals. Review these goals periodically to keep your child motivated and on-track. Make adjustments along the way, with a flexible mindset for Plan B.

Useful links and resources