Promoting Career Guidance and Counselling of Secondary School Learners: Implication for Policy and Practice

摘要

The importance of career guidance and counselling in promoting the economic development of any country cannot be underrated. This study endeavoured to assess the efficacy of career and guidance counselling in high schools in promoting labour market requirements. This qualitative study purposively sampled 30 participants; comprising 12 Grade 10-12 learners and 18 Life Orientation teachers in three secondary schools who responded to face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions and questaviews. The study found that career guidance and counselling as a component in the life orientation subject was not effectively taught, hence, learners cannot choose the right subjects for specific careers and instead, they relied on their intuition, uninformed parents and peers. The study found that learners were not effectively prepared for the job market. The study recommends training and staff development of teachers in career guidance and counselling to empower them to adequately prepare learners for the world of work.