How practitioners can empower students when choosing their career path

Growing up in today’s society is not an easy task for our young people, who are constantly faced with various decisions both at a personal level as well as career wise.

When it comes to choosing the right career path, students are often faced with major questions, such as, ‘’what are my options? Where do I want to go? How do I get there? Who can help me?’’

These considerations become particularly critical at Form 5 level when students transition from compulsory schooling to post-secondary education or employment. The role of the career guidance practitioner becomes significant to help students find an answer to the above questions. So how can we as practitioners empower students to make confident career choices?

Practitioners play a key role when it comes to encouraging students to attend one-to-one career guidance sessions during the scholastic years. These sessions give students the opportunity to gain an understanding of their interests, capabilities and aptitudes and how all this relates to the right career.

Career guidance practitioners allow students to discuss the career options available together with the various study and training paths one can pursue to achieve their goals. It is imperative that the practitioner provides students with the latest labour market information as well as encourage them to participate in various scholastic and extracurricular activities in order to develop the soft skills that employers seek when engaging prospective job candidates.

It is also the role of the practitioner to encourage students to attend activities organised by the Ministry for Education and Employment. A case in point is the ‘I Choose’ Event which will take place today. Events such as these are a great opportunity for students to meet various stakeholders with whom they can discuss their career plans as well as attend several Talks about different work sectors. Students can also benefit from the Summer Walk in Service provided by the Career Advisors across Colleges in order to continue in-depth discussions about their career goals.

I strongly believe that students are empowered at an early stage to seek out ways and opportunities to explore potential career paths.

By participating in various career initiatives they will learn how to challenge preconceptions about gender stereotypes. However it is also important to keep in mind that students’ career choices are influenced by other factors, including but not limited to culture, life roles, past experiences and socio-economic aspects.

Finally, there is no perfect career but a myriad of careers which young people might identify with. I encourage students to strive to be lifelong learners in order to stay competitive in today’s growing economy.

One last note, as the renowned philosopher Confucius stated, what is important is to, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life!’’

For more information on ‘I Choose’ visit edu.gov.mt/ichoose