The Significance of Career Guidance for High School Learners
Comments
By Anonymous
Fri 2 Dec, 2011 - 13:11
hi,im impressed that u telling the truth d way it is and i would like us to contact each other cause there is a project on career guidance that im pursuing so i would need people like you to help.than x.my e-mail is zamanxumalo@exclusivemail.co.za..i would be glad to hear from u soon.
By Anonymous
Fri 14 Oct, 2011 - 00:02
I am a grade 10 student from Pretoria and i have attended Career Mapping workshop presented by CMISA which stands for Career Mapping Institute of South Africa. This is one of the organisation in our country that is committed to guiding high school learners towards career success. I have attended one of thier workshops presented at our school and it really has oppened my eyes to countless career opportunities available within my career interest areas, particulary within the scare skills areas. I strongly recommend all the learners from grade to attend thier workshop so they can start to to plan thier careers at an early stage of thier high school journey.
By Anonymous
Wed 27 Jul, 2011 - 10:37
that is nothing but the truth.gov should hire people to assist this learners especialy those in rural areas.
By Anonymous
Tue 28 Jun, 2011 - 09:09
Most students who are in high school eagerly wait for Career Day when business professionals from the community give them an insight into the various career options they can choose from.High school students are seeking guidance from career development counselors.It is important for students career planning and development.
Regards,
career guidance
By love4040
Tue 5 Apr, 2011 - 09:31
I am a social worker who only recently were forced to communicate with schools, specially teachers, when visiting to discuss the poor performance of my foster children. I was amazed how little information many teachers could give in regards to a specific child. I realise that classes have many learners and do not wish to critisize...If I ask them how they can possibly assist the child to improve their performance, most of them had no plan of action. I was even asked by one principal if I, as a social worker would come to speak to the children about careers!! I would like to hear from anybody who can assist me to help these children who have no recources, who do not have mentors to motivate them to take charge of their future themselves as adults seem to dismally fail them
By Anonymous
Fri 1 Apr, 2011 - 13:16
this article is good work but i honestly do not think that it is the teachers fault that most children do not have ambitions at all!!!The first lesson starts in the home and so my view is that the parents need to step up and star being parentswho advise their childrebn and asist them with homework and lifeskills.The teachrs do their jobs at school but they cannot follow their students home.Remeber,these teachers have their own role to play as parents and gaurdians to their own children,.It is time that we stopped blaming the education system and played our role as parents and gaurdians.I also think it is wise that the education system makes curriculum suitable for children at primary level to actually gro up having an ambition.It is worrying that a matriculant has no ambition because in other countries,a junior learner already has an ambition and strives to work towards that goal!!It is time to stop the blame game and step up as parents and gaurdians to forging a partnership with the teachers in order to secure the future of the children and to give them ambitions.
By Anonymous
Fri 4 Mar, 2011 - 06:58
Career Guidiance is key if the future of the nation truly belongs to the youths. Unfortunately, little or nothing is done by the parents, schools and government to make sure the youths choose a course of study that atleast aligns with their talents. We must begin to value education and give to it the proper attention and support in order to breed youths who are more aware of themselves and can create a better future for the nation. ~ @gent2smile
By Anonymous
Mon 28 Feb, 2011 - 11:11
Phumla raises an important point. I founded a website - www.guidinglight.co.za - that assists high school student in township areas in Gauteng with information on career guidance precisely because there is so little information which reaches these students. We profile professionals in different industries and put information about available bursaries, learnerships and graduate programmes. We acknowledge that not all students in these areas have access to the internet, so we conduct workshops at schools for free.
Because of lack of funding, we are not able to advertise and market this free service to all schools - we rely on word of mouth.
By Anonymous
Tue 22 Feb, 2011 - 21:46
I'm a matric student in a Private school here in South Africa. It is irrefutable that my fellow peers do have limited information in terms of been career advised or guided. They often fail to pursue their dreams due to this. Is it the Private Sectors role to promote career guidance? On the other hand why do we have the National Youth Development Agency - is this their role? One should Love South African Politics!
South Africa is getting obsessed with the improved matric results while no attention is given to career guidance. Lack of career guidance at our schools is evident when year after year the majority of these matriculants flock to universities while further education (FET) training colleges are far from achieving government’s target of enrolling one million learners by 2015.
Despite losing days of learning due to last year’s public sector strike, one can safely say the 67.8 percent pass rate reflects the level of commitment on the part of the matriculants, teachers and the Department of Basic Education.
However, a large number of learners will not be able to pursue their studies at institutions of higher learning due to lack of career guidance at schools. Proper career guidance would have assisted many of these students with early applications at universities and/or further education and training colleges, selection of career paths at an early stage, and with more career options other than enrolling at these institutions. I strongly believe that proper career guidance would have at least made this situation manageable for learners and the institutions of higher learning.
Our education system should prepare the learners at least from Grade 10 onwards when it comes to choosing career paths. In order to achieve this, the schools should dedicate the beginning of every year to career guidance or include it in the curriculum. This will allow learners to select subjects that are in line with their future plans. Moreover, career guidance could go a long way in giving the learners the confidence to decide where they want to be in future.
In my encounters, I came across a number of matriculants who did not have a clue about their career ambitions. This does not paint a good picture for the entire country because it means that teachers do not prepare the learners for post-matric studies or they lack the capacity to offer career guidance to learners.
I recall one learner declaring that she does not intend furthering her education because she comes from an impoverished family. How many of these learners know the existence of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)? Is the Department of Higher Education and Training doing enough to encourage matriculants to study at institutions of higher learning? The reality is, poverty should never stand in the way of matriculants while funding schemes like NSFAS exist.
The NSFAS should also benefit those matriculants who are currently sitting at home with nothing to do. While we encourage matriculants to study subjects such as Mathematics and Science, we should always remember that some of these matriculants have good marks in these subjects. In situations like this, the Department of Higher Education and Training should take a stand and inform high school learners about the availability of bursaries and loans from government, the private sector and foreign funding agencies. Lack of information or access to information in rural areas has also been a contributing factor. How many of the rural areas in South Africa have libraries?
In a press statement earlier this month, Higher Education and Training Minister, Blade Nzimande, presented all the right topics to navigate the learners through career options. The statement covered topics with information on universities, FET colleges, financial assistance, skills development programmes, adult education centres and career advice services.
I am of the view that such topics should be covered in career exhibitions whereby public institutions of higher learning and funding agencies are invited to provide information about their programmes to learners.
Further education and training colleges should also encourage learners to enroll with them in order to reduce the influx of learners to the universities. Learners need to be made aware that FET colleges also offer programmes that could drive the growth of our economy. These programmes, which most of them are referred to as ‘scarce skills’, have the potential to equip them with the necessary skills to drive the economic growth of this country in future. This will help turn South Africa into a country which will no longer import skilled professionals.
Life Orientation teachers should take up the duty of career guidance. In addition, the government should deploy career counsellors to schools to offer career guidance to learners on a full-time basis. If government cannot afford employing career counsellors, it is best to have at least one career centre that will cater for schools in a specific region. In order to realise this, government should collaborate with communities, the private sector, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
Standing together as a nation in navigating the right education for the careers of our learners could help build a country free from social ills such as poverty, unemployment and crime.
- Phumla Pearl Mhlanga is an intern at SANGONeT.
Despite losing days of learning due to last year’s public sector strike, one can safely say the 67.8 percent pass rate reflects the level of commitment on the part of the matriculants, teachers and the Department of Basic Education.
However, a large number of learners will not be able to pursue their studies at institutions of higher learning due to lack of career guidance at schools. Proper career guidance would have assisted many of these students with early applications at universities and/or further education and training colleges, selection of career paths at an early stage, and with more career options other than enrolling at these institutions. I strongly believe that proper career guidance would have at least made this situation manageable for learners and the institutions of higher learning.
Our education system should prepare the learners at least from Grade 10 onwards when it comes to choosing career paths. In order to achieve this, the schools should dedicate the beginning of every year to career guidance or include it in the curriculum. This will allow learners to select subjects that are in line with their future plans. Moreover, career guidance could go a long way in giving the learners the confidence to decide where they want to be in future.
In my encounters, I came across a number of matriculants who did not have a clue about their career ambitions. This does not paint a good picture for the entire country because it means that teachers do not prepare the learners for post-matric studies or they lack the capacity to offer career guidance to learners.
I recall one learner declaring that she does not intend furthering her education because she comes from an impoverished family. How many of these learners know the existence of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)? Is the Department of Higher Education and Training doing enough to encourage matriculants to study at institutions of higher learning? The reality is, poverty should never stand in the way of matriculants while funding schemes like NSFAS exist.
The NSFAS should also benefit those matriculants who are currently sitting at home with nothing to do. While we encourage matriculants to study subjects such as Mathematics and Science, we should always remember that some of these matriculants have good marks in these subjects. In situations like this, the Department of Higher Education and Training should take a stand and inform high school learners about the availability of bursaries and loans from government, the private sector and foreign funding agencies. Lack of information or access to information in rural areas has also been a contributing factor. How many of the rural areas in South Africa have libraries?
In a press statement earlier this month, Higher Education and Training Minister, Blade Nzimande, presented all the right topics to navigate the learners through career options. The statement covered topics with information on universities, FET colleges, financial assistance, skills development programmes, adult education centres and career advice services.
I am of the view that such topics should be covered in career exhibitions whereby public institutions of higher learning and funding agencies are invited to provide information about their programmes to learners.
Further education and training colleges should also encourage learners to enroll with them in order to reduce the influx of learners to the universities. Learners need to be made aware that FET colleges also offer programmes that could drive the growth of our economy. These programmes, which most of them are referred to as ‘scarce skills’, have the potential to equip them with the necessary skills to drive the economic growth of this country in future. This will help turn South Africa into a country which will no longer import skilled professionals.
Life Orientation teachers should take up the duty of career guidance. In addition, the government should deploy career counsellors to schools to offer career guidance to learners on a full-time basis. If government cannot afford employing career counsellors, it is best to have at least one career centre that will cater for schools in a specific region. In order to realise this, government should collaborate with communities, the private sector, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.
Standing together as a nation in navigating the right education for the careers of our learners could help build a country free from social ills such as poverty, unemployment and crime.
- Phumla Pearl Mhlanga is an intern at SANGONeT.
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