Is Work Experience essential Students: The future workforce.

Most youth in secondary schools are offered the opportunity of work experience these days in certain countries. Students have the opportunity to see what their parents are doing in real situation or observe other profession. Many fields of employment are selected for this exercise. Students are encouraged to write letter to these organisations or companies by themselves. Thus exposes them as to how to market themselves to potential jobs in the future. Any area of interest could be formal jobs such as teaching, accounting, shop assistants, and computer firms, Airports. Army, Police force etc.

Benefits to the youth

This gives students the opportunity to start planning for their future career prospects steering them where to focus their energy more on. Employers’ feel privileged and their service are augmented with the exposure of spreading a company’s mission with students their future recruits.
The successful implementation any company’s objectives could start from this initial intervention of a student’s keen interest in a company. This effective planning and attitude could contribute in head hunting the right breed of staff at a very early age.
Just like Ghana many developed countries never thought of this ideas until recently and many students have benefited from work experience. They have gained a widen perspective of jobs other than applying and starting with an overview of a company’s set objectives. Surely this would sharpen the direction of future job prospects.
How could an African child compete with such a student with all these head start in life?

Sharing best practice internationally

Having an international journal for head teachers to share best practice for students what works or what need more exploration, become more vital in this current climate of economic growth. Such as move would ensure equity of education for our youth across the world leading to a universal workforce.

In Africa this work experience is an innovative approach however it becomes even more essential to our limited, over stretched or nothing at all resources. Parents just want their youths to get out and join the workforce to help the family to fend for younger siblings.

Families have many children from current marriages and others yet expecting the very best outcome from each child.

How do African children cope with parent’s expectations to choose the right job without even having a taste of the job?

This challenges the Government to consider endorsing work experience for all SSS students to facilitate an effective planning of our future workforce.
Ghana is catching up with the developed world from all angles. The developed continents such as Europe, Asia and America are focusing on Africa but with Ghana in mind.
However do we have the right workforce with capacity and capability to be called business partners?
Could this new approach be of great interest to the Ministry of Education perhaps?
In fact having a long-term vision for all students is crucial for any country. Making poverty a history ideally starts from such a stance. Every student has the potential to achieve his or her desired goal given the right environment. Research has shown those facts over and over again.

Ghana would certainly be a better place if everyone were to be educated just the way our former President had his vision set on.

Currently, as it stands, majority of our youths are missing out in the work experience enjoyed by most children in the developed world where schools have incorporated this practice with their curriculum.

Many African students go to University without knowing exactly what their chosen subjects entails until it’s too late for them.

Some students, who have role models within the family setting, get the guidance but what about those without any ideal role model. These are the youths worth targeting.
Do senior secondary schools have a career counsellor? Do the various organisations within our country go to schools and participate in career fairs to assist students about the right subjects to focus on?

During one’s days in secondary schools, it is assumed that one knows what ones wants to do. Schools ever directed students or even give guidance to ensure an effective and smooth transition to sixth forms, colleges or vocational schools.
Students are left at the mercy of the of themselves making them an easy prey for the rich men wanting to entice the youth into all sorts of activities currently seen on our news head lines.

When is the wake up call coming for the Ministry of Education to act ASAP without fail? It is never too late!

Would September 2006 be the new era of starting up this new innovative approach to exposing our youths to the working world? That is the work experience placement for two weeks only as part of school curriculum perhaps?

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