Gap year can make for better decisions
With matric over, some youngsters take a year’s break before choosing a career
IN THE professional or career world, a gap year is a year before going to college or university. During this time, some do advanced academic courses, extra-academic courses and non-academic courses, such as one-year pre-college maths courses or language studies. Others learn a trade, study art, do volunteer work, travel, do internships, sport or embark on adventures.
Mostly, though, they get up to mischief or develop terrible habits, like sleeping late.
Lindi Wit, 18, recently received her matric results. She passed, but four weeks before they came out she was already job shadowing in a newsroom.
Not that she doesn’t know what to study; she just wants to be sure. And isn’t that the ques- tion parents ask most often?
Lindi said she would take a gap year because she did not know what she wanted to study and she wanted a break after 12 years in school.
“I hope to go to the US, get a job and make money.
“That’ll teach me to be responsible and mature.
“I really want to just grow and mature and see the world before I go back to school.”
To some parents, though, a gap year is a ridiculous waste of time.
While we commend the young troops who know what the next chapter in their life is, let’s look at those who haven’t the slightest clue what to do next. They’re the ones who could sleep in all day.
“Fine, I’ve passed matric, but what’s next, or even so what?” These are questions some matriculants are asking themselves.
At 17 or 18, most teens don’t know what they want to do with their lives.
Yes, they do well at school and have passed with flying colours, but that does not mean they are aiming for the presidency. So let’s explore the gap year.
Gap years are sometimes used as a way for students to become independent and learn responsibility before going to university.
It’s a chance for them to explore the corporate world and find their feet.
About 50 to 60 percent of first year students drop out according to Dr Andre van Zyl, director of the Academic Development Centre at the University of Johannesburg.
So why run to tertiary when they are going to end up just going back home anyway?
To avoid making this mistake, it is imperative that students take time to choose a suitable career path.
Being pressured by parents and families does not help, so parents should bear with them and provide support.
They should not have to experience four years of agony in tertiary study.
Taking a gap year does not mean a student will be sunbathing, napping under the duvet or sitting chilling with “chommies”.
They have to go out and find work that appeals to them. Some companies let students stick around the office and see which career they fancy.
This means a student is allocated a company representative who will show them how things work.
The duration of shadowing depends on the company – some will allocate a day, others weeks.
Sphelele Ngubane, 25, who is now a reporter for sister newspaper The Mercury, took a gap year after matric.
That year he also studied community journalism and worked at a community radio station as a news anchor.
All of this helped him to get a basic understanding of what was available in preparing for tertiary study, he said.
Apart from companies, some institutions offer constructive gap year services.
The Gap Academy in Pietermaritzburg has been running for 10 years. Its founder, Brenda Horner, is a qualified teacher with 33 years’ experience taking in tertiary-level lecturing and compiling an accredited course for a distance learning college.
“Students and their parents face a daunting task in choosing a career and life path after school and many make hasty decisions that turn out to be wrong,” said Horner.
She added that some chose the wrong subjects in Grade 9.
This was understandable given the wide range of study options available.
It was difficult for pupils to make an informed decision while their attention was on achieving a good matric pass.
“The 50 percent drop-out levels are attributed to immaturity, poor self-discipline and lack of preparedness.
“But once outside the protected school environment, students have time to assess different career options and test different work experiences that help them discover their niche,” said Horner.
Lala Domleo, who attended the Gap Academy in 2011, said she hadn’t been ready to make a choice.
It had seemed sensible to wait and get more experience before making up her mind.
She went to the academy and ended up studying social science and psychology, and majored in criminology.
“I never would have discovered that career path if I hadn’t taken a gap year,” said Domleo.
Nana Zuke has first-hand experience of having “no clue” of what to do after matric. After two failed study options, she took a gap year that directed her into the world of journalism. Sleeping-in is no longer an option.
For more on the Gap Academy, visit www.gapacademy. co.za