Making smart career choices early on will not only give high school learners a direction on which to focus but will also put them onto much smoother pathways to success.

During the senior years at high school, students are not only being taught educational fundamentals, but they should also be equipped with the knowledge needed to make informed choices with regards to what could possibly be the biggest decisions of their lives: which career choice is the best choice for them, and what skills and knowledge do they need to achieve that goal?

The choices start off simple enough with being given information relating to what subjects they need to take to be able to study at higher education facilities, and which subjects will specifically be required for the courses that are instrumental to achieving their careers goals. A number of factors need to be considered: What are their interests, where do their passions lie, what are their strong (and weak) attributes, what do they want their career and life to look like 20 years into the future?

Career planning or guidance is a carefully considered approach to asking these questions of the students, and then guiding them into the career choice that would suit them best. The Covid-19 pandemic has had many ill effects on various industries, least of all which has been the possibilities of encouraging live job fairs or exhibitions for various academic institutions to entice students to enter their hallowed halls of learning, or workplace job shadowing opportunities. Students need to be provided with the career planning resources and information needed to be able to make informed decisions.

Not only is career guidance pivotal to identifying where the students’ skills lie, but also necessary to make smart occupational and economical choices, and in doing so, perhaps help overcome the high levels of youth unemployment our country is currently facing.