Career Education

For teenagers to face their future, they need to make personal plans that should be directly related to the social and economic dimensions of life. This means that young people need to understand the factors that shape the new, complex work reality, so that they are able to determine their career path and manage the feelings of uncertainty caused by the changing structure of work.

Career planning is now constituted by the acquisition of learning and professional experiences inside and outside the educational program, as well as by the individual markings through the individual's action in multiple environments (social and cultural). This means that teenagers need to accept the idea that we are now moving away from a linear career and they need to become the managers of their own careers. At the same time, they raise the question: "What am I going to do with my life?" and they reflect on what is of most value to them. Thus, they are forced to answer a life-design question that highlights ethical issues and choices while identifying what makes a life truly worthwhile (eg self-actualization, social justice, equality and respect, caring for others, etc.). ).

On the basis of these views, adolescents need to be prepared to face with an "open mind" their relationship with professions and work in general, to strengthen their ability to use each of their experiences as a transferable skill and to be guided to seek a working lifestyle very different from the traditional pattern. In other words, the person asking themselves "is this career right for me?" and not "what should I plan as a career?", so that the "objectively best" choice is both subjectively desirable and practically feasible. In such a scenario, teenagers need to manage the complex constraints involved in making professional decisions and simultaneously highlight the personal, work, social and family context.

The thematic axes of career education programs include:

(a) the personal development and cultivation of life skills, e.g. programs for time management, boosting self-esteem, organizing a personal file for future use in writing a resume, ways to search for a job, cultivating communication skills, utilizing information sources, etc,

(b) education and training information, e.g. possibilities and options in the education system, educational options after middle school and/or high school, education systems abroad, distance education, student mobility, lifelong learning, etc.,

(c) the world of work, e.g. job descriptions, job prospects, modern jobs, entrepreneurship, business structure and organization, green economy, flexible forms of employment, recognition of professional qualifications, professional mobility, etc.

Despo Kirmitsi, BSc, MA

Career and Vocational Guidance Counselor