“Kadry reshaiut VSE!”

This was the topical slogan of the 20^th century that was spoken by Stalin in 1935, stating that the human capital is the biggest wealth of the USSR. From the first days of independence, our President pays more attention to the country’s economic state than its policy agenda. This represents the weighty value of resources, labour and human capital in the country. In this sense, educators and labour market policy makers believe that the right career guidance can be the most effective way in achieving a number of public policy goals (OECD, 2003).

One of the service of career guidance is to help students to decide future job and develop their career management skills. Typically, for schools, this means building career education into curriculum and connecting related subjects to students’ both personal and professional development (OECD, p.40). Many countries have already adapted career education related courses, however mostly they appear to be experienced at high school level (Education Bureau, 2011). Developed countries such as the US, Australia, the UK, Finland, Germany use different effective tactics in career guidance and start it earlier than in developing countries.

As Kazakhstan is listed among developing countries and because this topic is socially valuable and economically significant, there is a need to understand why Kazakhstani high school students face difficulties in their future career choice. For the sake of the country’s economic development, career guidance is especially substantial in schools. The reason is that career misguidance may cause issues in labour demand and supply in society. In 2011, headhunter.kz conducted a survey among 2603 participants to reveal the rate of people’s attitudes about their career. Among all participants, 69% had higher education diplomas, 13% of respondents had two and more HE diplomas. The main mass (31%) obtained economic education and 27% completed their education in technical fields. Interestingly and unfortunately, 26% of participants have never experienced in the fields they completed in higher educational institutions; 24% of them had some practice in the areas they had studied before; only 50% of participants have been working with their obtained qualifications (Fifty per cent people regret, 2011). These percentages draw quite a big issue that proves the need of teaching people to plan and make decisions about their future jobs.

All in all, career education seeks to develop students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes, and assists students to make decisions about their future career preferences. The next blog post will provide various effective strategies of several countries, which are used as the best approaches in implementing career guidance in schools.

References:

OECD (2003). Career Guidance: New Ways Forward.

Fifty per cent of people regret about their career (2011). Almaty.hh.kz. Retrieved 01.05.2015 <from http://almaty.hh.kz/article/30#2011>

Education Bureau (2011). Recommendations on Career Guidance for Secondary Schools under the New Academic Structure. Retrieved 30.04.2015 from <http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/student-parents/careers-guidance/about-careers-guidance/cgr_eng_2011oct_final.pdf>