Career counselling: The perpetual need

(Assistant Professor, KC Das Commerce College, Guwahati.

She can be reached at gargisarma16@gmail.com)

Education is the need of every nation. This can be duly referred to as an avenue via which a child obtains knowledge about the subjects of daily life. Mastery of these subjects will help youth develop a comprehensive view regarding society. Hence, following this powerful linkage between education and society, every nation deems to prioritize the concentration on education. It's the educated youth who can build a better and stronger TOMORROW.

'Education is the backbone of society

Considering this approved notion, India too has taken the initiative of recognizing the Right to Education as a fundamental right. By this right, children aged 6 years-14 years have the right to obtain free and compulsory education. There resides a real world beyond the family a child is born to. A real-world can be well addressed as the space with the fusion of discrete matters. And, the conventional principle of life says 'As a child grows, he/she will have to learn living in this real world. It's indeed a compulsion for every child to learn, know and understand the real world. Therefore, a nation obligates itself to educate its young citizens.

'Well at times, compulsion stands as the solitary plan to greet the better'

To twig the fusion of discrete matters, education will have to nurture a child's personal and cerebral growth. They dish up as an imperative part of the procedure. To outlive a complex crust, children will have to first absorb the verity- 'The issues and concerns of the world are interesting as well as muddling'. Education helps children recognize, understand and build their perceptions regarding the real world. To participate in a child's intellect the education system always strives to design and re-design its education system in a well-organised manner. Consequently, the education curriculum of a country follows predetermined parameters like- (a) A child's age and the respective psychology (b) Insights education would like to confer (c) Focal matters of the country (d) A proper layout of providing education as per the age.

A child's cognition nurtures in the lap of education. The educators provide them with lessons about subjects of the real world. Also, efforts are taken to enlighten children with the values and ethics of a society. These tutored values are stored in the perceptions of every child which can later be reflected in their encounters with the real world. The most agreed style of educating children in a country is by grouping children within age brackets. It helps in the preparation of the curriculum considering the attributes of every age group. As such, this facilitates a joyful and easy learning milieu.

Today's changed education curriculums provide breaks to explore and nurture the skills and qualities owned by children. As a child grows he/she starts identifying their unique qualities and starts exhibiting them. This is fairly appreciated and efforts are taken to motivate every child to demonstrate theirs. Education forums or providers help the children develop and hone their qualities and skills hereby contemplating the appreciation for groomed qualities and skills in the Job Markets.

In this journey, children develop their interests and are magnetised towards one particular theme. Generally, a child's interest depends on the insights and the auxiliary bits of grips which, should be considered as the basis for the creation of a career path. Society will reap returns only when a child succeeds in choosing a field contemplating his/her knowledge, interests, qualities and skills.

'Education guides a child to choose his/her career path'

However, this process stipulates an exigency of a professional Career Counsellor. A person with the expertise to understand, guide and groom a child stands, as an obligation. Career counsellors are trained with the potential to help a child choose a career path. Attaining qualifications balancing interests, qualities, skills and Job demands have become a tactful activity in the present world. Also, today's education system gives due recognition to the role of Career Counsellors. It has become very important to guide children to make a choice. The High School Leaving Examination is the first step towards career building. A new journey embarks which takes the child to the area he/she would like to further swot. Considering the importance of this stage, institutes should arrange Career Counsellors for standard guidance. If a child is guided in the right way, he/she can excel with the required exuberance. Another striking turning point in a child's academic life is Higher Secondary Exams. This opens up avenues for making a precise choice in the area they desire to continue swotting and earn expertise. Therefore, this stage too calls for a Professional Career Counsellor.

A few decades back, career counselling didn't surface. It used to be skimpy counselling by the kith and kin. This dates back to the time when the job market wasn't challenging. Hence a little knowledge seemed to be safe. But, today gives a changed picturesque of the Job Market. As an upshot, a change in the contemporary education system can be witnessed. Thus, the conservative idea of earning a qualification was annulled by the modern notion- 'Qualifications are attained to carve a career out of it'. These changed sketches of the world have marked career counselling to be an integral part of the education system. Career Counsellors take active participation in the academic life of a child to understand their abilities, knowledge and interests to guide them towards the right door. However, the number of working professional career counsellors in the country doesn't justify the need. This has resulted in an insufficient score in providing the required guidance to children. As an effect, even today children are seen making wrong career choices. They fail in establishing a rationale in the link between their interests and acquiring qualifications in that area of interest. And the folks know it better how a wrong justification to the interests, qualities and skills can cost the nation. Yes, it will be calculated as a huge wastage of potential human resources.

Today's redesigned/ upgraded education system offers ample opportunities making it effortless for a child to crave a career enjoying their interests. Also, children's qualities and skills get an equal opportunity for growth. The system has indeed broadened the scope to embrace children irrespectively, to build their careers. Such endeavours are to make children job-ready. Professional career counsellors can be the directors of their career paths. However, the counsellors need to timely revise their know-how and should adopt an unbiased approach while delivering the guidance.

Education and qualifications are two vital elements in the life of every child. Children should develop a perceptive outlook towards these elements. The linkage should be apprehended well to help them reach an evocative conclusion. Career Counsellors can help them understand the linkage by re-introducing them with their qualities and interests. However, the process can reap positive returns only when it is reciprocating in nature.

The composite world looks for youth who strikes confidence in their expertise and skills. People qualifying disparity with/her interests is disregarded in the Job Market. This begets survival concerns. There is a need for a professional who can afford to interact with a child, help him/her retrospect their knowledge & interests, qualities & skills and lead towards the right door. This is a need of today, tomorrow and years to come. It's a Perpetual Need.