JUST as important as having jobs available for our young school leavers is the instilling among them of a mindset that not only are there career options for them, and what those options entail, but there also is help at hand when they come to make their choices.

And it is never too early for them to consider what role they would like to play in society as adults.

About 200 Year 5 students from the Fraser Coast will be given a glimpse of the many exciting career choices they have ahead of them at a Smart Steps: Jobs to Go expo to be hosted by the University of the Sunshine Coast today.

The expo at the university's Fraser Coast campus hopefully will raise the ambitions of those aged 10 and 11 while they have ahead of them sufficient study space to prepare for their chosen careers.

The expo will involve exhibitors from USC, TAFE, the Queensland Police Service and district businesses.

Students from Torbanlea, Urangan Point and Maryborough West state schools will gain hands-on experience in a variety of jobs and professions.

USC Access and Diversity co-ordinator Veronica Sanmarco said students would discover what it was like to work as a nurse, teacher, librarian, police officer and in a host of other professions and roles.

In changing times, these evolving perceptions are not just important, they are vital in giving our young every option and every chance to become society's future successful and contributing adults.