After high school, students need to make some calls.

They may embark on a new pathway in university, college, work, travel, or a combination of these. Perhaps a ‘gap year’ is in the offing, where more thinking and experiencing is needed to choose the right pathway.

Advice and guidance comes from many sources: school guidance counselors, teachers,  career management tools like www.myblueprint.ca, social media influencers, Tik Tok videos, even music or rock stars. Some Swifties hang on Taylor’s every word.

Surely a smart phone would be the ultimate go-to for students to learn anything about jobs, careers, or life paths.

Not so (thank heaven).

Mom and dad overwhelmingly exert the most influence. And by a large margin.

Recurring research suggests that 60-70% of students cite the family as the key influence on the road taken after that high school diploma.

But are parents equipped to dole out career advice? Are they aware of exponential shifts in evolving work environments and career paths?  These questions may be beyond the scope of the average parent.

Parents, however, offer more than economic or labour market information.

They are in a unique position to share many life experiences and lessons full of struggle, success, and network-building – essential in nurturing career-visioning mindsets.

Arjun Redhu, Applied Business Management (ABM) student at the Louis Riel Arts and Technology Centre (LRATC), appreciates how his parents “give advice, share their experiences, and help me think through my options.”

Grade 12 student Emmanuel Ilaye joined the Information Systems program at LRATC because his parents “shaped the character and mindset that helped me choose it.”

Danna Blanco Osorio, another grade 12 student in the ABM Program values her parents’ advice, “because they’ve been through a lot to get where they are.”

The students and research are clear: parents are key influencers when it comes to post-high school planning.

So listen to your mom and dad. They just might know a thing or two.