Counselling of students with problems of vocational choice

Abstract

One of the most fundamental activities of human beings is the making of choices "What shall I do? What type of career should I choose?" This is where the counsellor comes in, 'the skilled helper' whose profession can help the client to arrive at a concrete plan of action. A boy of sixteen may be handed a test profile that makes perfectly clear what his pattern of abilities is like and be informed about occupations in which such abilities are most applicable yet he might be totally unable to grasp the significance of these facts because of a network of ambitions, family expectations, and self doubts in which he is enmeshed. In this case it is not only information that he needs but wise counselling. It is the combination of the diversification of our industrial society and democratic ideals and attitudes that make counselling necessary. The tremendous increase in enrolment at the tertiary level of education during the last years is a matter of common knowledge. Many factors have combined to channel such a large proportion of youths through educational institutions.