Two secondary schools hold Career Day Fair

Many students at one point or another have encountered challenges in setting goals, and as a result of this choosing a career field is difficult.{{more}}

Cognizant of this fact, the career guidance staff at the Emmanuel High School Mespo and the Dr J.P Eustace Memorial Secondary School on Thursday, November 18, and Friday, November 19, organized the first of what is hoped to be an annual career day fair.

“Choosing a career is difficult. It is a huge decision and it can make a difference in your idea of happiness,” Kathleen Jeffers, Education Officer/Career Guidance in the Ministry of Education, said.

Jeffers, in her address to the students of the Emmanuel High School Mespo, further stated that choosing the right career was important, as it affected all aspects of an individual’s life, including one’s family, friends, finances and spiritual life.

“So in making career decisions, think about all these aspects,” she advised.

Jeffers did, however, state that there were not enough students opting to go into technical fields.

She said that the old stigma that those fields were only for persons who demonstrated poor academic qualifications was no longer true.

“Students only think of careers such as medicine and law,” Curtis Greaves, Principal of EHS, said.

He added that he hoped that the day’s event would help to remove the stigma that to be successful they needed a white collar job.

Leonora Ackie-Ambris, guidance counselor at the Dr JP Eustace Memorial Secondary, told SEARCHLIGHT that one of the main objectives of the fair was to show students of that institution that they possessed different skills and that in many instances, skilled workers earned more money than persons who pursued mainstream academic careers.

Ambris highligted a problem her institution that is similar to that at the EHS where students are being drawn to careers in law or medicine.

She said that the career fair was organized to get them to begin to think about other fields.

“We want our students to see that they are not in a box, there are many choices for them,” Ambris said.

Some of the sectors represented at the fairs included insurance, fisheries, education and health.

Ambris said that the staff was hoping to continue the event so that the students will begin to take career decision making seriously.

“Even in Form 1, career guidance should be introduced; they can’t wait until Form 5 to start thinking about career,” Ambris explained.

“It’s like building a house. Without a strong foundation, you can’t have a strong house.

“If students build a strong foundation from Form 1, they will push towards the subject area to get them there,” she said. (DD)