Students get career guidance

WESTERN BUREAU:

HUNDREDS OF secondary-level students across the island are now better prepared to make career choices, thanks to the guidance provided to them at the Choices Career and Education Advice Seminar held on Tuesday at the West Jamaica Conference Centre in Montego Bay, St James.

The seminar, themed 'Preparing for the Future World of Work', implored students to set career goals based on well-thought-out life plans and to cultivate skills which will ensure they remain relevant in the rapidly evolving world of work.

Making her contribution to the seminar, general manager of Choices, Angela deFreitas, told attendees that, in keeping with world changes, they should be prepared to change careers several times throughout their professional lives.

be prepared

"You are probably going to have to change careers more than once ... so be prepared, don't just think you're going to have just one career and stick to it. Try to broaden your horizons, make sure you are multi-skilled and you have a variety of different skills which you can transfer from one type of business to another.

deFreitas advised: "Because there is no guarantee that your career is for a lifetime ... you are going to have to stand out, you're going to have to be different. All of you are going to have to prove somehow that you can bring something different to a company ... . You have to make sure that you stand out when you go to an interview or you will be just like everyone else."

Having dedicated herself to motivating others, deFreitas further urged the students to carefully plan their career paths, noting, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there and, when you reach your destination, you might find that you are at the wrong place."

Several organisations and professional bodies, including the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), National Youth Service, and the Broadcasting Commission, also supported the initiative.

Lieutenant Cody Weir, from Up Park Camp, encouraged the students to consider a career in the JDF.