This article describes the relevant careers counselling services in Germany for school leavers, with a focus on the characteristic German “dual system” of vocational training. By the time they have reached the end of their school lives, most students have already made key decisions about their subsequent working lives and possible career paths. “Bad” decisions regarding training and higher education are often a factor in dropping out of vocational training or higher education (Frey, Ertelt, & Ruppert, 2016), affecting approximately 25% of all dropouts from vocational training and approximately 30% of all dropouts from university (Frey, Balzer, & Ruppert, 2014; Uhly, 2015). It is therefore imperative to investigate whether career counselling services address the right target group, when they are mainly targeting school leavers. According to data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), from which cohort 4 (SC 4) was analyzed by descriptive data statistics, on various careers counselling offers, the influence of parents on young people’s career choices is greater than that of teachers, of career counsellors or of occupation-specific information from the internet. Based on these findings, the authors recommend strengthening the parents’ competences in order to enable them to better assist their children in making suitable career choices. Thus career counselling services could indirectly improve decision-making behaviours.
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