CAREERS INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND CARERS
Useful support, advice and guidance
As a parent or carer, you play a huge role in helping your child plan their future. Whether they’re still exploring their options or getting ready to make decisions about work, college, or university, there are some excellent resources to help you support them with confidence.
Below are some trusted websites and tools that offer advice, guidance, and practical support for parents just like you.
National Careers Service
The National Careers Service is a free resource available to everyone aged 13 and over. It provides expert advice on careers, education pathways, apprenticeships, training, and more.
What you’ll find:
- Support from trained advisers via phone, online chat, email, or text
- Free helpline: 0800 100 900 (open every day, 8am – 10pm)
- Help understanding your child’s education and career options
- Accessible services including minicom for hearing-impaired users
UCAS - Browse Careers
A powerful, interactive tool that helps students discover career paths by exploring job categories based on their interests.
Key features:
- Browse by broad categories such as Health & Care, Science & Engineering, IT, Arts & Media, Business & Law, and more
- Each category—and subcategory—includes specific job roles, making it easy to narrow down fields that might suit your child
- Includes a Career Quiz to match personality types with potential job ideas and further study options
This tool gives a clear, accessible way for parents and students to explore and compare various career sectors together.
Mission Employable - Free Newsletter for Parents
Mission Employable offers a free monthly newsletter designed just for parents. It’s packed with practical advice, real-life tips, and tools to help your child take their next step with confidence.
What’s inside:
- Easy-to-understand guides on apprenticeships, graduate schemes, and work experience
- Insights into how hiring is changing – including the role of AI in recruitment
- Encouragement and tools to help boost your child’s confidence and motivation
Talking Futures
Today’s education landscape is full of new qualifications and routes that may not have existed when you were at school. Talking Futures helps you understand options like T-levels, apprenticeships, and Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) — and gives you tips on how to talk about careers at home.
Includes:
- Conversation starters to help you talk about careers in a positive, open way
- Guides on further and higher education choices
- Real examples of young people who took different routes to success
Parents advice for career conversations
Further and higher education career tips for parents
Careerpilot
A free, impartial, one-stop careers resource designed primarily for young people (approximately ages 11 to 19). It offers guidance, tools, and support to help users explore education and career pathways.
You're a Key Influence
You don’t need to have all the answers — but knowing where to look for support can make all the difference. These resources are here to help you feel informed, confident, and involved in your child’s future decisions.
Take the next step
Join an upcoming open day or a campus tour and learn what it is like studying with us. Our friendly student ambassadors will show you and your child around our campuses and tell you all about student life at University College Birmingham. Or if your child is ready to apply now, they can submit their application today.