Once upon a time you became a teacher, doctor, soldier, nurse or secretary. It was that simple. Today, the world’s your career oyster as jobs not yet conceived of are likely to fill the classifieds of newspapers — or rather, of cyberspace — within the next decade.
That’s the speed with which technology is transforming the job market. The 10 jobs identified by an American company as those most in demand last year, for example, did not even exist in 2004.
And then there are the daily headlines vying for attention when it comes to scarce skills and job shortages in South Africa.
It’s all pretty confusing out there, especially for matriculants already pressurised to focus solely on learning for their finals.
So just how does a school leaver cope, not only with this exponential rate of change, but also in identifying a suitable career?
What not to do
Student counsellors and career guidance teachers are quick to tell you what students should not be doing, such as, don’t pursue a career just because it is your parents’/teachers’ choice, don’t pursue studies just because there’s a bursary available and don’t pursue a qualification just because you think you will be assured of a job once you have achieved it.
“There’s a very real danger about pursuing a career for all the wrong reasons. We see the repercussions of this almost on a daily basis,” says counselling and educational psychologist Dr Darryl Smith, who has 28 years’ experience in higher education and career counselling.
Of the 3 889 students who turned to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s (NMMU) student counselling services from January to September this year, for example, 1 283 career-related concerns. These accounted for more than a third of all student visits.
Many confess they’re studying something in which they have no personal interest and are hugely unhappy with.
So what is the correct approach to choosing a career field?
According to Smith and Bronwyn Seymour, who heads the university’s Centre for Access, Assessment and Research (CAAR), preparations for career choice and study options should begin long before matric.
“When making your subject choice for grade 10 onwards, you should already be thinking about what you’d like to do one day,” says Seymour, who has about 10 years’ experience in assessment and research.
Realistically speaking, however, she knows that many 15-year-olds have no idea what they would like to do or be as they are still establishing their own identities.
“It’s better to look at the big picture and give yourself options. If there’s any chance you might want to do something in the science field then it’s wise to pursue maths and science, and back it up with two or more designated subjects for a degree,” she says.
A minefield of options
Well aware of the minefield of options facing school leavers today, the Student Counselling Centre at the university runs workshops on Fridays to assist grade 11 and 12 learners to make suitable career choices. An assessment and counselling programme has been developed to deal with all the aspects of making a good career choice such as abilities, interests, personality, values and career and course information. There is a charge for the service but it has proved to be invaluable for scores of learners who take the time to focus on making a good career choice.
To help rural or township learners, schools career workshops are run from the university’s Missionvale campus each Wednesday. Learners are transported to the workshop at no charge.
“Fifteen to 20 learners are identified and then assessed in terms of their abilities, interests and personalities and then exposed to career fields to match their profiles,” says Smith.
They are then given the opportunity to research careers and study programmes on an information package called PACE, which includes details about financial aid and bursaries. This initiative consistently receives excellent feedback.
However, even without the benefit of carefully packaged career workshops or private testing, there’s no excuse for claiming ignorance about possible future careers. Since this is the information age there’s more knowledge available than ever before.
Rather, says Smith, it’s about taking responsibility.
“It’s up to matriculants to seek out options. They must not leave it up to their parents or guardians, or their teacher, to do the thinking for them. They need to take responsibility for themselves and then seek teachers and family members as people they can consult,” he says.
Part of taking that responsibility is for school learners to familiarise themselves with what is available on the job market and then to evaluate realistically whether they have the acumen (read: “do they meet the Admission Point Score and other admission requirements?”) to study for such a career and, equally importantly, whether they’d be happy in such a career.
This is also why work-shadow opportunities are so good as they enable the student to “try before you buy”.
“Choose a career or study direction because you are enthusiastic about it and you know that you have a good chance of being successful. Being realistic about your strengths and weaknesses is very important — very few of us can be good and successful at anything or everything. We all have our limitations,” says Smith. “Find out about careers and study options. This is homework you will never regret.”
It’s homework that’s likely to throw up a selection of careers the likes of which you had never heard — some of which are also in demand (see below). But, there again, if the experts are anything to go by, even if they are, at present, not sought-after professions, there’s a good chance that, by the time you have completed your studies, they’ll be back in demand. The building industry is one example.
In short, their advice: be realistic about your abilities and follow your passion.
Careers
According to Career Junction, an online job website, the majority of “scarce skills” can be found in the following sectors: Information technology, telecommunications, finance, engineering, mining, motor building and construction, manufacturing, production and trades, fast-moving consumer goods, retail and wholesale, human resources and recruitment.
Inquiries at NMMU had lecturers narrowing down the field to specific careers that are very much in demand. Many are not particularly well known, which means learners will need to “take responsibility” and find out more about them.
They include: construction project manager, professional property developer, professional property entrepreneur, business analyst, software developer, code tester, industrial engineer, financial planner, database manager, geologist, mechatronics engineer, quantity surveyor, skills development facilitator, occupational health and safety consultant, recruitment specialist, human settlement manager and labour consultant.
Within the IT field, for example, the British Computer Society ascertained that there are as many as 290 different careers and between 22 000 and 70 000 IT vacancies exist in South Africa alone (www.itweb.co.za).
At NMMU, mechatronics, financial planning and human settlement degrees have all been introduced in recent years in an ongoing bid to meet the needs of the market. Further initiatives to provide added support for students in areas of need have also been introduced at NMMU like the Women in Engineering Leadership Association designed to attract, support and grow women who enter the various engineering fields.
But guess what? There’s still a dire need for foundation phase teachers.
Debbie Derry is the senior communication manager at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.