By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, Aug. 21, GNA — Future Careers Ghana has held a career fair for students and graduates at the ECG Training School in Tema dubbed “Discover Study and Work Opportunities Abroad,” aimed at helping the youth bridge the career guidance and counseling gap.
The participants were presented with a one-on-one career guidance, and counseling session to help them understand the career options available and how to pursue them taking into consideration their strengths and weaknesses.
They also receive psychometric assessments by trained Career Development Officers (CDOs) to help them link their skills, talents, and personalities to the suitable courses that will enable them succeed in their career choices.
The initiative which is in collaboration with the Amity Institute of Higher Education offered a spot-on application and admissions at the fair to students in Ghana and the opportunity to travel and experience other educational systems.
Mr Papi-Paulo Zigah, the Director of International Operations at Future Careers Ghana in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema said it was not prudent for a child to be forced into a particular career by their parent, guardians, or friends as making a wrong career choice would jeopardize that child’s future.
He noted that there were several cases of children doing courses that were chosen by their parents or working in organizations that did not align with their skills or personalities and that has made them unhappy.
Mr. Zigah reiterated a call on the authorities to leverage career education in Ghana’s educational system.
He explained that Career education is concerned with the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes through a planned programme of learning experiences in education and training settings which will assist students to make informed decisions about their life, study, or work options, and enable effective participation in working life.
Mr. Zigah said, “we have reached the point where we need to educate the public about this, that higher education is not about the university, it is about any opportunity to help you acquire skills and knowledge relevant to a specific occupation.”
He said it simply offers the child the ability to build his or her career education through one’s own natural abilities through guidance.
Mr Zigah said career education assists students to reflect on their ambitions, interests, strengths, and abilities as well as helps them to have a greater understanding of options, pathways, the labour market, and employment, and to relate this to what they know about themselves.
He explained that it results in a variety of positive outcomes as the students’ performance improved such as enhancing confidence and positive attitude in making career-related decisions, career exploration behaviours, and a lot more to complement the current educational system.
He indicated supporting students to know their interests, abilities, and goals; understanding the fundamentals of occupations, and acquiring knowledge, and skills regarding career planning were very essential in preparing them for the future.
“If you know what you want to become, you can develop your own competence, you can take a lot of online courses to put you in a position where you can deliver within that particular occupation or profession,” he stated.
He said the structure instilled students with the knowledge they needed to obtain a meaningful career adding that there was the need to give Ghanaian youth career guidance and access to quality information to make informed choices for their future.
Mr. Zigah said preparing students for the future would require all teachers working to provide students with the knowledge, and skills to manage their studies and careers.
He called for the training of educators to be involved in designing the lessons; infusing career knowledge into the content of academic courses; organizing more career practice activities for students.
GNA