Career counselling at school — how to make the most of it

Career counselling at school is something many parents know little about, even though it's a mandatory part of the Polish education system. Used well, it can genuinely help a teenager choose a degree and career path, but in practice its quality and intensity vary a lot between schools. This article explains what school career counselling is, what to look out for, and how to support your child at home.

What career counselling at school actually is

Under Polish education regulations, primary and secondary schools are required to offer career counselling activities. In practice this means group sessions (sometimes during homeroom periods), workshops, meetings with a careers adviser, sometimes aptitude tests, and in higher grades, individual conversations about choosing a degree or school. The scope and quality of these activities, however, depend on the resources of the specific school — not every school employs a full-time careers adviser.

Who runs career counselling

• School careers adviser — if the school employs one, they run group sessions and individual consultations.
• Homeroom teacher — in smaller schools, often runs basic counselling activities during homeroom periods.
• School psychologist or pedagogue — sometimes involved, especially with aptitude tests or more difficult situations.
• External specialists — some schools invite advisers from psychological-pedagogical counselling centres or outside organisations for one-off workshops.

How a parent can check what the school offers

Step	What to do
1	Ask the homeroom teacher or school office whether the school employs a careers adviser and what the schedule looks like
2	Check whether the school holds career days, education fairs, or meetings with alumni
3	Ask your child whether they've taken any aptitude tests and whether the results were discussed with them
4	If the school's offering is modest, look for outside resources — counselling centres, free online tests, university materials

What to do when school counselling isn't enough

Unfortunately, career counselling at school sometimes amounts to little more than one presentation a year or handing out university leaflets. In that case, it's worth supplementing it with resources at home: talking with your child (see: how to talk to your teen about choosing studies), attending university open days together, or using free online tools. A good starting point is the free next.movv test based on the RIASEC model (Holland Codes) — in 10 minutes it shows career types, matching degrees and jobs along with indicative pay, giving concrete material for further conversation with a school adviser or at home.

How to prepare your child for a meeting with a careers adviser

• Encourage your child to write down their interests, strengths and doubts before the meeting.
• Suggest they bring their aptitude test results if they've already taken one — it makes the conversation easier.
• Talk after the meeting — ask what the adviser suggested and whether your child agrees with it.
• Treat the adviser as one source of information, not the only authority — it's worth comparing their recommendations with other sources, such as ELA data or the Occupation Barometer.

Why it's worth using career counselling despite its limits

Even modest school career counselling has value: it's a chance to hear a perspective from someone outside the family, to test ideas about careers against job-market realities, and to practise talking about one's own plans. Combined with conversations at home and tools like aptitude tests, school counselling can meaningfully lower the risk of common mistakes when choosing a degree, such as picking a course purely under peer influence or by chance.

What to expect from good career counselling

Valuable career counselling at school isn't limited to a single presentation. It should include at least a few elements spread over time: an introduction to self-knowledge (interests, strengths, values), an overview of post-school education paths, information about the job market and career trends, and, in higher grades, individual conversations about specific choices. If your school only offers a fraction of this, take it as a signal to actively look for supplementary resources elsewhere.

The parent's role in working with the school

It's worth treating career counselling as an area where parents and the school cooperate rather than act separately. You can ask the teacher or adviser what topics will be covered during the school year, and ask whether an individual consultation is possible for your child if group sessions aren't enough. This kind of active parental involvement is often appreciated by schools and genuinely increases the chances that your child receives more tailored support.

Summary

Career counselling at school is a resource worth using deliberately, but it rarely suffices on its own. A parent's role is to ask questions, supplement the offering at home, and help their child combine different sources of information — school, family and independent online tools — into a coherent picture that makes deciding on studies easier.