Career maturity and well-being as determinants of occupational status of recent school leavers: a brief report of an Australian study

Abstract

The present study tracked a group of Year 12 students 9 months after leaving high school and sought to identify whether age, gender, data on career maturity, psychological wellbeing, and school achievement reported while still at school could be identified as predictors of occupational status. Data on these variables were able to identify broad postschool occupational groupings of school leavers at Time 2 (T2), whether they were in full-time study, full-time employment, or unemployed/part-time employed. Findings support the assertion that career maturity is a predictor of a successful postschool transition. Discussion focuses on the need to explore movements between the occupational groupings and implications for school-based interventions.