Lack of career guidance leads to destitution – NGO

Fri, 16 Dec 2016 10:58:50 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

MOST youths in Zambia have been rendered destitute after completing school due to lack of proper career guidance programmes which cause them to make poor career decisions, the Youth in Action for Sustainable Development (YASD) has observed.

Programmes manager Zebedy Lukwesa said that most people were engulfed in the career-choice quagmire because they were not availed with proper information on which programmes would be suited for them when they were still at school, leaving them vulnerable to unprofessional advice form the street.

Mr. Lukwesa said as a result of the information gap in schools on what career path to take, most of the promising young people end up pursuing careers which they did not bargain for and become professional misfits.

He said with the creation of two career paths in the Ministry of Education, there was need to enhance career guidance so that pupils can make informed decisions on what career they should pursue.

He said Zambia needed professionals in all fields who have passion for what they do as an effective tool hinged on selfless individuals who enjoyed what they did as they offer a service to the country.

“Most of the young people leave school without proper guidance on what they should do or be in their lives and most of them fail to make decisions even after their Grade 12 results are out due to ignorance. Even those who have gone to colleges and universities to pursue different careers, most of them are in wrong fields and end up professional misfits because they pursued a career which they did not like.

“With the introduction of two career pathways, we need enhanced career guidance in schools so that we produce the best quality in our professionals.

‘‘Gone are the days when people only dreamt of white-collar jobs because vocational training has also proved to be an effective career pathway but as long as learners are deprived of valuable information that would shape their careers, it will be difficult for the country to get the best out of its professionals,” Mr. Lukwesa said.