A person's vocational orientation starts with their first career-related ideas in early childhood and continues throughout their educational and professional biography. The transition from school to work is a crucial phase in this process. During this stage, young people face the dual challenge of identifying their individual career path while balancing societal expectations, the demands of their social environment (e.g., parents, family, and peers), and the structural conditions of the labor market. International labor markets frequently experience skill mismatches, where employer demands do not align with job seekers’ qualifications and expectations. Despite a significant shortage of skilled workers, Germany, for instance, had approximately 74,000 unfilled apprenticeship positions in 2023. At the same time, about 63.000 of young people remain without a placement, either because they do not meet company requirements or because they are unwilling to train in the occupations offered. A deeper understanding of individual career decision-making processes is essential to addressing these mismatch problems and improving institutional career guidance strategies.

The social environment plays a crucial role in career choice. Parents exert a lasting influence by shaping career aspirations through their own professional experiences, expectations, and socioeconomic status. As primary role models, they provide guidance, encouragement, and material support, often steering career choices in ways that align with family traditions or perceived stability in the labor market. This influence is particularly strong when parental career expectations are explicit and when young people rely on their family’s knowledge and networks in their decision-making process. At the same time, peers gain increasing importance as adolescents strive for autonomy from their families. Peers and social reference groups function as both sources of career-related information and role models for vocational aspirations. Shared interests and experiences within peer groups contribute to the formation of career preferences, as young people observe and compare their own aspirations with those of their friends. Social comparison processes, group norms, and the success or failure of peers in certain career paths shape vocational self-perception and decision-making. Particularly in peer groups with strong cohesion, collective expectations about desirable careers can significantly influence individual choices.

This study systematically reviews existing literature to address the following research questions:
(1) How do parents, peers, and social reference groups influence young people's career choices?
(2) Through which mechanisms do parents, peers, and social reference groups exert their influence?

By synthesizing previous findings, this systematic literature review aims to provide a comparative analysis of different social influences on career choice and to identify the underlying mechanisms. The findings will be presented in a poster session and discussed in the context of innovative institutional career guidance approaches to mitigate skill mismatch problems in the long term.

Keywords: Vocational orientation, career choices, influence of social reference groups.