Prioritising career guidance and development services in post-apartheid South Africa

Anthony L Pillay

doi:10.4102/ajcd.v2i1.9

Abstract

Career guidance and development services must be viewed as a priority, especially given Africa’s history of colonisation and deprivation where people of colour were viewed essentially as manual labour. With decolonisation efforts and improved opportunities, the impact of poorly informed career decisions is a concern. This can be quite serious both individually and nationally, and attempts must be made to address this problem. Young people and their families affected by ill-conceived or absent career planning suffer economically and psychologically. Considering the global and local economic trends, job markets and youth unemployment, career guidance services must take cognisance of the transformed workspace to include the informal employment sector. Most importantly, career guidance services must be made available to all, and not just a select few.

Highlights

The idea of career development is in many ways a conception of the modern era, considering that careers were chosen, modified, adapted and even completely changed, based on a variety of factors that did not include the intervention of a career development practitioner
Young people embarking on higher education and training without careful consideration of the longer-term career prospects, the job market and their employability thereafter, or the suitability of the career to their personality make-up can find themselves in a difficult situation later
Like the criticisms levelled at psychology and psychotherapy models amidst the need for transformed approaches relevant to all who need care, it is vital that career guidance, development and counselling practice are cognisant of the transformation agenda and are geared towards providing appropriate services

Summary

Introduction

The idea of career development is in many ways a conception of the modern era, considering that careers were chosen, modified, adapted and even completely changed, based on a variety of factors that did not include the intervention of a career development practitioner. South Africa has been one of the countries where formal sector employment opportunities have been shrinking quite significantly over many years, resulting in a rather bleak economic and development outlook, especially for young adults. The social structure and education system of apartheid allowed for children of white parents and those in elite or more expensive schools to have access to some level of career guidance services.

Results

Conclusion