It’s fair to say we’re in a period where industries are being reshaped, and not just at the edges. New tools, new business models and artificial intelligence are changing how work is done, what employers need, and what 'job-ready’ really looks like.
National Careers Week (11–17 May) is a good prompt to step back and ask a simple question: are our career pathways keeping up?
Because the challenge for many people isn’t a lack of options - it’s the opposite. There is more information, more marketing, and more ‘pathways’ being sold than ever before. And when the messages are loud enough, it’s easy to pick what sounds safest or choose what looks impressive and then hope it works out later.
The reality is that good career decisions now need to do two things at once. They need to line up with the jobs that exist today, and they need to leave room to adapt to what’s coming tomorrow.
In my experience, the best careers advice is practical. It helps people test assumptions, get exposure to real workplaces, and, where possible, take a ‘try it and see’ step before they commit years and dollars to a pathway that may not fit.
Careers are changing - but not evenly
We talk a lot about the future of work at a national level, but the truth is that career pathways don’t look the same everywhere. Outside the major cities, the labour market is often thinner, the range of industries narrower, and the cost of travel and access to training shape what’s realistically possible.
If you get the first few steps wrong, it can be harder to recover quickly because there are fewer alternative options close by.
That’s why this matters so much to me. At VERTO, we work across NSW, the ACT and Queensland with over 100 locations and a team of 350+ people supporting communities across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia. We see, every day, how opportunity is shaped by geography and how outcomes improve when pathways are practical and local.
We also hear it in conversations with people trying to work out their next step, with career advisers and training providers helping them navigate options, and with employers trying to find job-ready people. That’s why ‘job-ready’ can’t be an abstract idea. It has to be built around local realities - and it’s why employers tell us they need useful skills.
Employers don’t need perfect resumes, they need job-ready people
One of the most consistent messages I hear from employers is simple: they need practical skills and job readiness, not polished resumes.
There’s no doubt qualifications matter. But in many workplaces, what matters just as much is what sits underneath: communication, reliability, willingness to learn, teamwork, and the ability to show up and contribute.
That’s why work placements, on-the-job learning, and competency-based training models can be so effective. They build the skills people actually use at work - and they give employers confidence that someone can do the job in practice, not just on paper.
And it’s also why employers and training providers need to work closer together.
‘Try it and see’ pathways reduce risk - for everyone
Here’s where jobseekers, employers and training providers are often closer than they think.
People want to make a good decision, not an expensive one they regret. Employers want people who can step in, learn, and contribute - not just interview well.
In a noisy market, the smartest move is often to reduce risk early with a low-stakes step that builds confidence and capability: a taster, work exposure, a traineeship, a school-based apprenticeship, or any pathway that lets someone work out what fits and then learn and earn.
And this isn’t only about school leavers. It’s also about people returning to the workforce, and mid-career workers reskilling - people who don’t have years to gamble on the wrong choice.
In those situations, cost matters too, which is why initiatives like NSW Fee-Free training places (January to June 2026, limited places) can be a useful on-ramp when someone is ready to move.
Training and employers need to move in step
If we want career pathways to work, employers and training providers can’t operate in parallel. They need to operate together.
Education providers bring expertise in teaching and assessment. Employers bring real-time insight into what ‘job-ready’ looks like - in their workplace, in their industry, and in their local labour market.
When those two worlds connect well, you get training and opportunities that lead to jobs and careers that stick. When they don’t, you see frustration on both sides: employers who can’t find people, and jobseekers who can’t translate training into work.
A great example of what collaboration can look like is the Renewables Taster Program in Central West NSW - a partnership giving people a practical ‘try it and see’ pathway into renewables and construction: a free, two-week hands-on program running from 18 May to 3 June 2026, aligned with real projects.
We’ve also seen how provider-to-provider collaboration can strengthen local outcomes - like VERTO and Skillset formalising a partnership to support education, training and employment outcomes across Western NSW.
And we’ve built tools like VERTOconnect, created in partnership with industry, because careers advice has to meet people where they are. We need better ways for students and jobseekers to see what different work actually looks like - not just read about it.
Collaboration isn’t a slogan, it’s how pathways are built.
For employers and training providers, here’s the key point: the strongest pathways are built together - early, practically, and around real work.
- Employers can define what ‘job-ready’ looks like and create entry points that build confidence and capability.
- Training and employment services can translate that into skills pathways that lead to real jobs, not just certificates.
- Community partners can help make pathways accessible locally - so people can participate, not just aspire.
That’s also why pathways need to work for people at every stage - not just school leavers. It includes people returning to the workforce, people rebuilding confidence and needing foundation skills before they can even start the next step.
That’s where practical supports matter - not as separate programs in separate silos, but as connected pathways:
- Workforce Australia services to help people get job-ready and into work
- The SEE Program (language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills) to build capability underneath employability
- Transition To Work Program helping young people aged 15-24 into work
- Parent Pathways for parents and carers of children up to 6
- Self-Employment Assistance for people whose best pathway is starting or growing a small business
- Inclusive Employment Australia personalised pathway to help people reach their goals.
These aren’t ‘extras’. They’re examples of what it looks like when a community treats careers and workforce participation as something we build together.
Finding the solution
There’s no doubt there’s no single fix. But there are some areas we can consider.
- Build more ‘try it and see’ tasters and work exposure opportunities
- Keep strengthening apprenticeships, traineeships and learn-and-earn pathways
- Make careers advice grounded in local realities
- And keep employers, schools, training providers and community partners moving in step
In the end, career advice isn’t just about individuals making choices. It’s about communities building capability - and making sure opportunity doesn’t depend on postcode.
If we can keep building the right pathways, and keep working together to make them real, we’ll strengthen opportunities for everyone.
