Page 221 - DEDU502_GUIDANCE_AND_COUNSELING_ENGLISH

Unit 20: Organizing Counseling Services at College Level

Great admiration for some person who has been very successful or one who has made some Notes
outstanding contribution may influence the choice, or the individual may respond to what he
conceives to be a direct call from God to enter some service.
There can be no doubt that, in many cases, the occupations chosen on the basis of any of these
factors have been quite suitable to the interests and abilities of the individual, but in other cases it
has been disastrous for the individual and for the service itself. None of the factors listed can be
relied on as adequate means of help in the choice of an occupation, although they may be, in some
cases, important auxiliary elements.
Organised vocational guidance assists the individual by providing him with all the data that indicate
his interests and abilities and all that are essential to an understanding of the type of work. He is
helped to learn about the duties and responsibilities of various occupations, the conditions of work,
the wages or salaries, and other benefits and to organise all this information in such a way as to
enable him to make choices suited to his abilities and needs.
Of course, it must be freely conceded that the best-organised and best-equipped programme of
guidance will sometimes fail because of the inadequacy of our present methods and techniques and
because the individual may refuse to accept the evidences of his abilities and interests.
20.3.1 Difficulties of Vocational Guidance

Theoretically, any youth with sufficient ability can aspire to enter any occupation regardless of the
social status of his parents. Every year boys and girls whose parents are desperately poor obtain the
education and training that enable them to attain success in medicine, law, social work, education,
research, government work, and many other high-level occupations.
One of the most startling evidences of freedom of choice has been the great number of women who
have entered occupations previously staffed only by men. Women have now amply demonstrated
their ability in many skilled occupations and in all the professions. This very freedom of choice,
however desirable, constitutes one of the major difficulties in vocational guidance.
Another difficulty arises from the slow, gradual process of an individual’s vocational development.
Guidance for choice of an occupation cannot be done in a hurry because it is a process of development
which often requires many years.
What is essential is a concerted and planned programme in which parents, counselors, teachers,
and fellow students are of real help both in facilitating the development of maturation and in
choosing the occupation. Furthermore, special abilities and ambitions may appear throughout the
early life of youth and be revealed in various ways to different people not connected with the
school.
Men and women in the community engaged in business and industry or in various professions can
be utilized in the vocational guidance programme. Among citizens in the community who should
be of special help in the discovery of abilities and interests are workers in churches, because of their
basic interest in building character and their service to society.
20.3.2 Guidance Toward Selection
The approach toward vocational selection should be as scientific as possible. The individual should
be helped to make well-founded judgments about his career on the basis of certain knowledge,
including :
1. As complete an understanding of himself as possible.
2. A knowledge of the elements of various vocations.
3. An appreciation of the extent to which his characteristics fit the requirements of a particular
vocation.
4. Opportunities in and advantages and disadvantages of the various occupational fields.
5. Educational facilities available for job training.

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