Is Work Experience essential for 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, the 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.

Early identification of students? interest through a taster experience in the job market would help the Government to budget for gaps within employment market to get the future workforce to face up the global challenges.

Ghana needs to be working with the micro and macro environments in the global economy in terms of the modern technology to facilitate the effective use of ICT with decision making units, educational standards, sociology in terms of national and international issues, economical factors, legal factors and political issues globally.

The successful implementation any organisation?s objectives need to start from this initial intervention of a student?s keen interest in an organisation. If Ghana is able to integrate this effective planning and nurture its future workforce, and then there is the likelihood of having the right breed of staff for every department at a very early age.

Just like Ghana, many developed countries never thought of these ideas until recently and many students have benefited from work experience. Students would not only gain the breath of their intended career but also have a widen perspectives of jobs other than applying for a job blindly. In addition they would have an overview of a company?s set objectives and their expectations within a given employment. Surely this would sharpen the direction of future job prospects.

How could an African student compete with such a student with all these head start in life during the experiences work experience offers? Africans students equally have all the potential but system fail students and us end up in the wrong job and then lacks that hunger to succeed.

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 globally thus leading to a universal and dynamic global workforce.

In Africa, 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. Some children get the work experience from their family if they have a business through vacation jobs etc.

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?

These should challenge the Government to consider endorsing work experience package 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 particularly on Ghana.

Ghana unique tapestry of diversity of cultures and religions yet people live in harmony with each other is the envy of the current world. Ghanaians love live and enjoy rather than fighting each other. There are occasional fights but not on the scale one sees on the globally.

However does Ghana 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 taking such a stance. Every student has the potential to achieve his or her desired goal given the right environment and the resources. Research has shown those facts over and over again.

Ghana, the rest of African and other developing countries would certainly be a better place if everyone were to be educated just the way our late President Kwame Nkrumah had his vision set on.

Currently, as it stands, majority of our youths is 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 have a role models within the family setting, get the guidance but what about those without any ideal role model. The future is very bleak!!! 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 themselves to make this crucial decision. Some do get help from their educated parents however some don?t and sadly easily becomes prey for the rich men wanting to entice the youth into all sorts of immoral activities currently seen on our news head lines.

A student needs to be encouraged to realise that they have the power to make or break even their own life? There are scholarship opportunities around and with access through the Internet any country of their interest. They could visit foreign Embassies or read the local newspaper for information.

It would be a useful catalyst if students were given a form of certificate that would facilitate their determination and zeal through their work experience. Global award of a kind for example, the World Challenge Expedition or Duke of Edinburgh awards which we could adopt as The President?s Special awards. This would encourage more students to aspire to, as such an award would compliment academic qualifications.

Design of the programme

The programme could be designed in such a way the students have work experiences in cocoa farms, animal farms. They could also help in community schools and get the opportunities of experiencing other regions and camping for two weeks and learning about the basic things of survival would enhance the image of our youth and beyond.

The awards could earn students merits towards something?s and the next step in their career progression.

Direction of future investments

At the same time Ghana also needs to start investing in the new breed athletics for future commonwealth and Olympics games to be like the Jamaican who would not settle for nothing but Gold medals for their country. Though we did well during the commonwealth games the performances by the athletics could not have been compared with the Australian, the Jamaican or the Kenyan it was simply not good enough for they expectations of the Ghanaians public. The athletics did their very best on the day but it becomes more clearer that our Government needs to invest heavily in keeping our future athletics in good shape for action to desire and thirst for nothing but gold.

All these strategies would help our youth to focus on their own achievement and capabilities.

Students also need to aim to these scholarships rather than focus on men or others for their rich picking. They would earn respect and dignity and become independent rather than relying on people and relatives to help them through.

When is the wake up call coming for the Ministry of Education to act ASAP without fail? It is never too late for our youth falling victims to all kinds of vices in this world!

Would September 2006 be the new era of starting up this new innovative approach to exposing our youths through formal work experience placements? Hopefully, work experience placement for two weeks only as part of school curriculum perhaps?

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.