Supporting Your Teen’s Future: How Parents Can Make Career Conversations Easier
As a parent, you want the very best for your teenager. You probably want them to step confidently into their future, whether that’s further study, a trade, employment or something unexpected that lights them up. But having those “what next?” conversations can feel awkward, pressured or confusing.
That’s where the Empower Youth Programme comes in — built to support both you as the parent and your teen as they navigate career and study choices.
In this post we’ll cover:
Why these conversations matter now (especially in New Zealand)
5 practical tips you can use this week
How Empower Youth takes the load off you and your teen
What next steps you can take together
Why these conversations matter now
In Aotearoa New Zealand, we know that young people face a complex environment when transitioning from school into work, training or further study. For example:
The youth unemployment rate for 15-19 year-olds has recently risen significantly.
Many young people don’t realise the wide range of pathway options or how early subject and study choices impact future work.
A strengths-based approach (focusing on what your teen can do, rather than what they don’t) is increasingly recommended.
That means your role as a parent is more important than ever, not to decide the path for your teen, but to support, open possibilities, and hold the space for exploration.
Five Practical Tips for Parents
Here are five things you can start doing right now to ease the career/study conversation with your teen:
1. Make it a regular chat, not a one-off “big talk”
Rather than scheduling a formal “career talk”, try casual check-ins: “What do you think might be fun when you finish school?”, “What subject have you enjoyed lately and why?”, “What’s something you’d like to try next year?”
Regular, low-pressure conversations build trust and openness.
2. Ask open-ended questions and listen more than talk
Instead of “What are you going to do after school?”, try “What are you curious about?” or “If money/time wasn’t an issue, what would you try?” These kinds of questions allow your teen’s ideas to surface.
When your teen talks, reflect back: “So it sounds like you like ___ because ___.” That shows you’re listening and helps them clarify their own thinking.
3. Focus on skills, not just jobs
Jobs will keep changing. What’s more stable are transferable skills: communication, problem solving, self-management, curiosity.
Encourage your teen to notice what they enjoy doing (helping others, creating things, organising stuff, using technology) and how that might translate into many different future pathways.
4. Explore together — don’t assume you know their path
You might have an idea from your own experience, but your teen’s world is different. Consider together:
Visiting a workplace, job-fair or open day
Talking to someone working in a field your teen is curious about
Browsing study/training options with them
This exploration helps keep options open and counters narrow assumptions. According to research, many young people make subject or pathway choices without full visibility of possibilities.
5. Support their confidence and mindset
Sometimes the barrier is less about what your teen can do and more about what they believe they can do. Encouragement matters: celebrate their efforts, acknowledge setbacks as part of the process, and remind them that it’s okay not to have everything figured out right now.
You can normalise change: “It’s fine if this year you try something and then next year you shift, what matters is learning about yourself.”
How the Empower Youth Programme makes it easier
Your time is precious. Your teen’s future is important. The Empower Youth Programme is designed to lighten the load and accelerate results. Here’s how:
For you, as parent: We provide frameworks, conversation prompts and insights so that you feel confident, informed, and supported in having these career/study conversations. Rather than guessing or hoping the right thing comes up, you’ll have tools to guide the conversation.
For your teen: They engage with interactive content, quizzes and coaching that help them discover their strengths, interests and possible pathways. Rather than feeling “behind” or “uncertain”, they move into clarity and action.
Shared parent/teen alignment: One of the biggest challenges is when parent and teen are talking past each other. Empower Youth helps align both sides: you’re on the same page, you speak the same language, you’re not working in silos.
Evidence-based: The programme draws on current research in New Zealand around youth pathways and skill development, so you know you’re not just using outdated “advice”, you’re using what works here and now.
Timely support: With the programmes running regularly, it’s the perfect moment for you and your teen to jump in together. We have limited spaces, so we encourage quick action.
What you can do next
Talk with your teen this week — pick one of the tips above and initiate a conversation.
Visit the programme page, Empower Youth and review the schedule, modules and parent resources.
Register for the Empower Youth Programme and secure one of the spots — there are only four spots available each programme - it’s high impact due to the attention provided to the participants.
Set a mini goal with your teen: e.g., “By end of the week I’ll identify two things I enjoy and why.” Use that as a launch pad into the programme.
Keep the momentum going — once your teen is enrolled, commit to a weekly check-in to review what they’re learning, what’s exciting, what’s surprising, and how you can support them.
Closing Thought
You don’t have to be an expert in career counselling to support your teen’s future. What you can be is curious, supportive and intentional. Your attitude, that their future matters, you’re in this with them, and you’ll figure things out together — is hugely powerful.
With the Empower Youth Programme, you’re not doing it alone. You’re joining a structured, parent-and-teen aligned journey that helps both of you move from uncertainty to clarity, from conversation to action.
If you’ve been waiting for the right time — this is it. Your teen’s future is waiting, and so is your role in helping them step into it with confidence.
Ready to Help Your Teen Take the Next Step?
If you’re ready to make those future focused conversations easier and help your teen feel motivated, confident, and clear about what’s next — now’s the time to act.
✨ Book your teen’s place in the Empower Youth Programme here.
There are limited spaces for each programme, only four spots per programme.
This 5-week programme helps teens discover:
What they’re good at and what matters most to them
Career and study options that fit their unique strengths and values
How to turn self-doubt into self-belief — with practical next steps they can take immediately
Parents consistently tell us how much easier life feels once their teen has clarity — less tension, fewer arguments, and a lot more forward movement.
🌿 Download your free online workshop: “How to Talk to Your Teen About Career & Study Choices.”
This popular workshop guide helps parents start meaningful, pressure-free conversations with their teens. It’s full of scripts, examples and questions that actually work.
