This snapshot investigates the career guidance and support available for 15-year-old students in their schools, who has the responsibility for providing this support and whether the type of support available varies according to students’ socioeconomic background and the school location. It also examines the types of activities students may have engaged in to help explore career options.

Research suggests that school-based career guidance is important for promoting further post-school study. There were smaller percentages of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (compared with students from advantaged backgrounds) and students in remote schools (compared with students in schools in major cities) who had access to career counsellors employed by their schools.