Frequently asked questions

Work Sync is for young people exploring the kinds of work that interest them, even if they have no career in mind. It is particularly useful in Years 10–12. Younger people can explore it with a parent, carer, teacher or mentor.

Start with what interests you. You don’t need a career in mind or to know any job titles before you begin.

The videos are short, narrated and captioned. You respond with a tick, cross or question mark instead of writing long answers. You can also explore Work Sync with someone you trust.

Each video presents a bite-size piece of the world of work: a visual representation of a group of related work activities that we call a Work Domain. It helps you picture that area of work and decide whether it interests you. Work Sync brings your responses together so you can see which areas appeal to you before exploring occupations in them.

The world of work is changing. Understanding the kinds of activities and environments that interest you can help you explore new opportunities as they appear.

No. It helps you notice which work activities interest you, then explore related occupations. It gives you a place to start, not one career answer.

Knowing what does not appeal to you can help you focus on work worth exploring further. You can revisit videos and change your responses as you learn more.

Yes. Its work-interest structure draws on established research into the activities and environments people are drawn to. Your results are a starting point for exploration, not a fixed career answer.

You watch 24 short, narrated and captioned videos presenting the world of work in bite-size pieces. Each is a visual representation of one Work Domain – a group of related work activities. As you watch, consider whether that area of work interests you. Tap the tick if it does, the cross if it doesn’t, or the question mark if you’re unsure. Your responses become a Work Interest Summary, and Wayfinder lets you explore related occupations.

Yes. You can explore it on your own or with a parent, carer, teacher, mentor or career advisor. Talking about what catches your attention can help you think through your results and next steps.

Tap the question mark if you’re unsure. You can revisit videos and change your responses as you learn more about the work that appeals to you.

Interest Discovery usually takes around 12–15 minutes. A session with an educator, mentor or career advisor may take around 30 minutes because you can talk through your responses. Work Sync works on phones, tablets and computers.

What you discover about your interests can help you think about subjects, work experience, training, study or a first job. You can also use your summary to talk through ideas with someone you trust.

Yes. After you finish Interest Discovery, you can save a return link by email, copy it or use a QR code on a mobile device. To return, use your link and a new verification code sent to your email. You can then revisit videos and responses, and keep exploring and saving occupations in Wayfinder.

Individual access costs $99. It is a one-time payment with lifetime access and no subscription. It includes Interest Discovery, your Work Interest Summary, which you can download, and Wayfinder.

Yes. Individual access can be purchased for your own use, or someone else can purchase it and assign it to you.

Yes. A school or organisation can arrange access for you. Once you are added, you receive an invitation link to begin. You can use Work Sync on your own or in a session with an educator, career advisor or mentor.

Paying for individual access does not give someone access to your responses, results or saved occupations. You can choose to share your summary with someone you trust.

Authorised educators and advisors can view your Work Interest Summary and Wayfinder Saved List through the Work Sync dashboard. This is different from individual access, where paying for someone does not give the purchaser access to their results.

Work Sync uses your first name and authorised email address to give you access. If a school arranged access, it may also hold your student identifier and school association. It saves your discovery answers, summary, later changes and occupations you save in Wayfinder. Our Privacy Policy explains this in more detail.

Work Sync uses access controls and secure browser sessions. Schools and organisations can only access student information through authorised dashboard permissions. Work Sync does not sell personal information.

Work Sync stores student information using MongoDB Atlas. The website and application are hosted on Netlify, and some service providers may process information outside Australia. Our Privacy Policy explains the current arrangements.

Work Sync does not currently require a parent or guardian consent check or ask you to prove your age. If you are under 18, we encourage you to involve a parent or guardian. If your school arranged access, it may have its own permission requirements.

If your school or organisation arranged access, ask an educator or advisor to resend the link. For individual access, the purchaser can request another copy through their setup email.

Work Sync is designed for young people who are exploring their future but may not know where to begin.

You might be supporting a young person who has no idea what they want to do, feels overwhelmed by the options in front of them, has had limited exposure to different kinds of work, or is approaching decisions about subjects, work experience, VET, further study or life after school.

Whether a young person is learning in a mainstream school, through home education, online or in an alternative setting, Work Sync can provide a structured way to explore interests and the world of work – particularly where access to traditional career education or individual career guidance may be limited.

Parents, carers, mentors and other trusted adults can purchase Work Sync for a young person and explore it with them. Young people can also purchase individual access for their own use.

Rather than asking someone to choose an occupation, Work Sync provides a structured place to start. It helps young people explore the activities, environments and ways of working that naturally interest and motivate them, building self-understanding before moving into occupations and pathways.

Work Sync is particularly relevant during the senior years of school – Years 10, 11 and 12 – when young people are making subject, pathway and post-school decisions.

But self-understanding doesn’t need to start then. From around Years 5 and 6, Work Sync can be used with a parent, carer, teacher or mentor to give young people a head start in recognising what naturally interests them.

Starting earlier gives young people more time to build self-awareness before higher-stakes pathway decisions arise.

Yes. Work Sync uses an accessible, visual and video-based approach designed to make career exploration simple and intuitive for a diverse range of learners.

Young people explore the world of work in bite-size pieces through short, narrated and captioned videos showing different work activities in context. They can respond with a tick for work that appeals, a cross for work that does not, or a question mark if they are unsure – with no lengthy reading, written responses, complex career terminology or abstract self-reflection required.

Rather than asking young people to explain what interests or motivates them before they have the language or experience to do so, Work Sync gives them something concrete to respond to.

This can support young people across different literacy levels, learning preferences, educational experiences and levels of familiarity with the world of work.

Many young people are asked what they want to do before they have enough exposure to the world of work to know what their options are.

Work Sync starts with the kinds of work activities that genuinely interest and motivate them. Interest matters because it can influence the time, energy, effort and persistence a person is willing to invest.

Understanding these patterns first gives young people a stronger foundation for exploring occupations, industries and pathways that may be worth investigating.

Career exploration is more important than ever.

AI, emerging technologies and changing industries are reshaping the world of work, and young people are likely to move through multiple roles, industries and career directions over their working lives.

In that context, understanding the deeper patterns that drive their interests and motivation becomes more valuable than simply identifying occupations that exist today.

Work Sync helps young people develop a language for understanding what engages them and the kinds of work they are drawn to. That self-understanding provides a more enduring foundation for exploring new opportunities, making informed decisions and pivoting as the world of work changes.

No. Work Sync is designed for exploration, not to give a young person one career answer.

It helps them understand patterns in what interests them and then connects those interests with a broader range of occupations and industries to investigate.

It provides a meaningful starting point for exploration rather than prescribing what a young person should become.

Understanding what doesn’t interest a young person can be just as useful as understanding what does.

Mapping both interest and non-interest helps narrow the field, identify activities that may be less likely to sustain motivation, and focus further exploration on areas that appear to be a stronger fit.

That’s useful information too.

Alongside the tick and cross, Work Sync includes a question-mark option so young people can identify activities they are unsure about without being forced to make a decision.

Once their Work Interest Summary is generated, those areas can be revisited and explored further. Uncertainty can reveal limited exposure, mixed feelings or simply something the young person needs to know more about – making it a useful starting point for conversation and investigation.

Work Sync is young person-led and self-paced. Interest Discovery typically takes around 12–15 minutes when completed independently.

When used with a parent, mentor, educator or career advisor, a session may take around 30 minutes as the videos and responses naturally prompt discussion and reflection.

Career exploration doesn’t end with the initial results.

Young people can return to Work Sync, revisit activities, reflect on their responses and refine their thinking as they gain new experiences. Their Work Interest Summary and Wayfinder exploration can then provide an ongoing reference point for career conversations and pathway decisions.

Career exploration becomes an ongoing process rather than a one-off result.

Work Sync gives young people and the adults supporting them something concrete to explore together.

Their responses can prompt conversations about why particular activities appeal, what they are unsure about and what might be worth investigating further.

It can also broaden the frame of reference for everyone involved, moving the conversation beyond the occupations already familiar to the young person or their family.

A young person’s work interests can give them a clearer basis for comparing the choices in front of them.

While they are at school, those insights can support conversations about subject selection and work experience. As they prepare to leave school, they can help the young person investigate further study, training, apprenticeships and other pathways connected with the kinds of work they find interesting.

Work Sync does not make those decisions for them. It helps identify possibilities worth exploring and gives the young person and the people supporting them a more informed starting point.

Yes. Career exploration isn’t only about choosing a long-term occupation.

A young person’s work interests can help identify industries, environments and types of work worth experiencing through work experience, part-time work or other early employment.

This shifts the question from simply “What job can they get?” towards “What experience could help them learn, build confidence and move in a useful direction?”

Individual access costs $99. It is a one-time payment with lifetime access and no subscription.

You can purchase Work Sync for a young person or purchase individual access for your own use.

Individual access includes Interest Discovery, a personalised Work Interest Summary and Wayfinder for occupation exploration.

The Work Interest Summary can also be downloaded, giving the young person something tangible to revisit or discuss with the people supporting them.

After your payment is confirmed, you’ll receive a payment confirmation and a separate “Set up your Work Sync access” email.

Follow the setup link to enter your young person’s first name and email address. They’ll receive their own email with a link to begin. Each individual purchase provides access for one young person.

Paying for individual access does not give you access to their answers, results or saved occupations. Your young person can choose to share their Work Interest Summary and Saved List with you.

Work Sync can be used on phones, tablets and computers.

Work Sync supports professionals and organisations helping young people understand themselves in relation to the world of work and make more informed pathway decisions.

This can include schools, career advisors, pathway planners, guidance officers and counsellors, teachers, youth workers, flexible learning providers, independent career practitioners, employment and transition services, and other organisations working directly with young people.

For many young people, “What do you want to do after school?” is difficult to answer. They may not yet have enough exposure or self-understanding to know where to begin.

Work Sync gives them something meaningful to respond to first. Their responses reveal patterns in what interests them, shifting the conversation from “I don’t know” towards areas worth exploring.

This gives educators and advisors a clearer starting point for more targeted career and pathway conversations.

A common challenge at the beginning of career exploration is that many tools assume a young person already has some understanding of themselves, the world of work, or the language to describe what interests them.

Work Sync is different. We show the world of work in bite-size pieces through a series of short videos. Young people respond to these videos without needing to know job titles, understand career terminology or explain their interests in abstract terms.

This helps practitioners get to meaningful information much sooner. Instead of spending valuable time trying to establish where to begin, they have clear patterns, areas of uncertainty and interests to explore with the young person from the outset.

For career advisors and counsellors managing many students, this can significantly reduce the time needed to reach the point where meaningful career exploration can begin – allowing more of their time to be spent on the deeper questioning, guidance and pathway planning where their expertise adds the greatest value.

No. Work Sync is designed to strengthen the work of career advisors, educators and mentors.

It helps establish a clearer picture of a young person’s interests and gives the person supporting them meaningful information to unpack, question and explore.

The professional brings the context, interpretation and guidance; Work Sync provides a structured framework and starting point.

Work Sync is evidence-informed and draws on established research in vocational psychology.

Its work-interest structure is informed by the SETPOINT vocational interest framework described by Su et al. (2019), which examines patterns in the kinds of work activities and environments people are drawn to.

This research provides the underlying structure for Work Sync, helping young people identify meaningful patterns in their work interests and connect those insights to relevant areas of work, occupations and future pathways.

Work Sync moves through three stages: Discover, Align and Navigate.

In Discover, the young person responds to 24 short videos showing different work activities – the world of work displayed in bite-size pieces. Align brings those responses together in their Work Interest Summary, making patterns across their interests easier to see.

Once the summary is generated, Watch Again allows the young person to revisit particular activities, reflect on their initial responses and refine their thinking. Navigate then uses Wayfinder to connect those interests with occupations they can investigate and save.

Educators and advisors can use each stage to prompt discussion, explore areas of uncertainty and help the young person turn those insights into meaningful next steps. A Facilitator Guide is also provided to support these conversations.

A Facilitator Guide is provided to help educators, career advisors and mentors use Work Sync with young people.

It provides guidance for using the experience and results as starting points for discussion and further exploration.

Work Sync provides the structure and information; the educator or mentor brings their knowledge of the young person, professional judgement and understanding of the surrounding pathway context.

Interest Discovery typically takes around 12–15 minutes independently. When facilitated by an educator, mentor or career advisor, a session may take around 30 minutes as the videos and responses generate discussion and reflection.

Yes. Schools and organisations can purchase access for groups or cohorts, and students can complete Work Sync independently or as part of a facilitated session with an educator, career advisor or mentor.

This gives schools flexibility to use Work Sync in a way that suits their career education program, staffing and student needs.

Work Sync maps directly onto the key stages of career and pathway planning: understanding yourself, exploring possibilities, making decisions and reviewing those decisions as experience grows.

Interest Discovery supports self-awareness by helping students identify patterns in the activities, environments and ways of working that genuinely interest them before they are asked to choose subjects, courses or occupations.

The Work Interest Summary gives those interests structure and language, creating something concrete for students and the adults supporting them to discuss. Wayfinder then supports career exploration by connecting those interests with occupations and industries.

Those insights can inform subject selection, senior pathway planning, work experience, VET and apprenticeship options, university and further study choices, and post-school pathways.

At a cohort level, patterns in student interests can also provide schools with meaningful data to inform career learning, work experience opportunities, employer engagement and the industry partnerships most relevant to their students.

Yes. Work Sync provides a common framework and shared language for understanding and talking about a young person’s work interests.

This can support greater consistency across career, pathway, wellbeing, teaching and mentoring teams, helping the adults around a young person work from a clearer understanding of what engages and motivates them.

Schools and organisations can purchase student access in batches to suit the size of a cohort or program. There is no need to commit to an enterprise subscription.

Once you let us know how many student invitations you need, access can be arranged for your cohort, program or organisation.

Student access is managed through the Work Sync dashboard. You provide a student identifier and authorised email address. Once students are added, they receive an invitation link to begin.

Yes. Through the Work Sync dashboard, educators and advisors can view students’ Work Interest Summaries and Wayfinder Saved Lists.

This gives them access to the information needed for individual follow-up conversations and continued pathway exploration.

After completing Interest Discovery, students receive a return link by email. To help protect their results, every return visit requires a fresh, one-time verification code sent to the email address authorised by their school or organisation, or a personal email they have added and verified.

If they cannot find their return link, their school or organisation can resend it.

Their return link can be accessed through the Work Sync dashboard and resent to them.

Work Sync uses access controls, secure browser sessions, restricted support procedures, and encryption or secure hashing for certain identifiers.

Schools and organisations access student information through authorised dashboard permissions. Credit card details for purchases are handled by Stripe and are not stored in the Work Sync database, and Work Sync does not sell personal information.

For students using Work Sync through a school or organisation, we may collect a student identifier, authorised email address, organisation association and access details.

We also save discovery responses, the completed Work Interest Summary, changes made after rewatching videos, saved Wayfinder choices, and limited session, security and support records.

Work Sync stores student and service data using MongoDB Atlas in the production cluster region selected by Work Sync. The website and application are hosted on Netlify.

Some providers process or support information outside Australia. This includes Postmark in the United States, while Stripe may process payment information in Australia, Ireland, the United States and other countries used by payment networks. Our Privacy Policy explains the current provider arrangements in more detail.

Work Sync does not currently require a parent or guardian consent check and does not ask students to prove their age. If a student is under 18, we encourage them to involve a parent or guardian.

Schools and organisations may have their own privacy, consent and approval requirements. They should follow their own policies and provide any notices or obtain any permissions they require when arranging access for students.

Each school or organisation needs to assess Work Sync against its own privacy, procurement and third-party platform requirements. The final approval sits with the school or organisation.

Our Privacy Policy explains what information Work Sync collects, how it is used and protected, which service providers are involved, where overseas processing may occur, and what authorised staff can access. Schools can contact hello [at] worksync [dot] com [dot] au if they need more information for their review.