Karen Sweeney
(Australian Associated Press)

Every Australian high school should have a trained career advisor on staff, a new report suggests.

Schools, businesses and industry should also collaborate to increase the amount of work experience and volunteer work available to high school students.

The report into the transition from high school to work, released on Wednesday, reveals more than half of career advisers work part-time and that only one-in-four young people turn to them for advice.

Young people spend 13 years at school learning about being an active part of the community by getting a job, but only one to six weeks is spent informing them about career choices, the NRMA highlighted in a submission to the committee.

“There is a clear disconnect between providing suitable and appropriate career advice and making sure students are job ready upon leaving school,” they said.

It also found the education system is geared to a transition to university.

University of Melbourne Associate Professor Ruth Schubert told the committee too many people were going into degree-based qualifications when they didn’t need to be.

“We’ve created many problems here with our system. We’re not very efficient or effective,” she said.

The committee came up with 35 recommendations including around careers advisors and work experience.

It also suggested the government give consideration to teacher working conditions and pay to attract and retain good teachers, and acknowledged “significant investment and reform” will be needed to raise the status of vocational education and training, apprenticeships and traineeships.