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Career counseling by Career Disha Nepal is offered by an expert career counselor to help youth to recognize their individual interests, values, and abilities by using different counseling tools and techniques. The different types of career counseling tools bring clarity to career-related goals, find the possible solution for education and career problems and point out the highest potential, and recommend suitable education and career to the youths accordingly.

Research shows that career counseling has led to individuals entering more suitable jobs, achieving greater job satisfaction and experiencing less job turnover than their counterparts who were not in the recipient of the career guidance.

In the modern era, the need for introducing career counseling to the students is very important to motivate the students toward the highest potential career choices. In Nepal, after SEE (School Education Examination) knowingly and unknowingly the chances of choosing the wrong career are greater than ever. Be it due to social pressure, misinformation or lack of reflection. Therefore, if students get a chance to have career counseling in the school level, they will have the choice to have an informed career…before it is too late.

We conducted the survey on 12 schools located at different places in Suryabinayak Municipality, Bhaktapur. The places include Ram Mandir, Aadarsh, and Kamal Binayak to know the perception and recognition of career counseling in school’s administration.

Recognition of the term and concept of career counseling in schools

Figure: 1 Study reveals that the term career counseling is completely new for more than 40 percent principals.

Career counseling is a new term in Nepal. Only a few top schools in Bhaktapur are using career counseling tools effectively.

How do the 58 percent of principal know the term career counseling?

Figure: 2. Most principals know Career Counseling through Social Media

Have the principals who know the term career counseling conducted some form of career counseling programs at their school?

No! The proper career counseling in school from career counseling expert is absent in all of the visited schools. Few of them informed us that they conduct some form of informative and advising counseling program at school. Such as motivation speech and student teacher career discussion program.

From 1-10, how do the principals rank the importance of career counseling in their schools?

 Figure:3. All the principals tend to believe that Career Counseling is utmost necessary

Career and educational choice of the students is important to the administration of the schools. 100% of the principals interviewed informed us that they know about their passed out students’ chosen career and education choice after SEE. According to them, the students most chosen career was management and science while only a few students choose the humanities and technical fields.

Figure 4: According the survey, most of the principal, 92%, felt the need of the career counseling for students.

Conclusion

Why is career counseling necessary in secondary school level?

It does not mean that only the confused students need the career counseling. Today, varieties of available career and education options and opportunity, which might be influenced students to pick up wrong education for the career. An Indian study shows that 1 in 3 students are unhappy with the course they picked. That is nearly half a million dissatisfied college students! Such figures only point to one clear truth - the importance of career guidance in schools.

The age group (14-18 years old) require career counseling the most. After grade 10 they need to decide the education for their career. A number of students pick specific subjects simply because their friends are opting for them while some decide according to their parents’ wishes. Only a few select subjects are based on their interests. Even this is usually chosen without knowing if their preferred subjects would lead them to their desired careers or not.

Career counselors believe that secondary schools are the platforms where students explore, experiment and enhance their life skills. It is during adolescence that they learn to communicate and interact with diverse groups, acquire problem-solving skills, polish their critical thinking abilities and recognize the importance of teamwork. Therefore, counselors suggest that secondary school students should be provided with appropriate career guidance in school level so that they can make informed decisions about their higher and professional studies.

Here are the few reasons that career counseling is important for students: 

• It helps the student understand their own strengths, interest, and values and lets them know what education and career they would be suited for.
• It helps students understand the career options that they fit in, and plan how to pursue them. It helps the students to build self-confident on their education and career decision. Subsequently, doing well in their chosen education field.
• It gives them a platform to voice their opinion about what they would like to pursue, as well as discuss the obstacles that they may be worried about. For example, with their parents.

Career counseling plays a vital role at crucial turning points in the lives of students. Students are seeking the good guidance and support in both their school and parents for their education and career. If the principal of the school understands the value of career counseling for students’ life and implements the necessary career counseling tools then the chances of the students reaching the career of their dream can be a possibility.

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Career counseling by Career Disha Nepal is offered by an expert career counselor to help youth to recognize their individual interests, values, and abilities by using different counseling tools and techniques. The different types of career counseling tools bring clarity to career-related goals, find the possible solution for education and career problems and point out the highest potential, and recommend suitable education and career to the youths accordingly.

Research shows that career counseling has led to individuals entering more suitable jobs, achieving greater job satisfaction and experiencing less job turnover than their counterparts who were not in the recipient of the career guidance.

In the modern era, the need for introducing career counseling to the students is very important to motivate the students toward the highest potential career choices. In Nepal, after SEE (School Education Examination) knowingly and unknowingly the chances of choosing the wrong career are greater than ever. Be it due to social pressure, misinformation or lack of reflection. Therefore, if students get a chance to have career counseling in the school level, they will have the choice to have an informed career…before it is too late.

We conducted the survey on 12 schools located at different places in Suryabinayak Municipality, Bhaktapur. The places include Ram Mandir, Aadarsh, and Kamal Binayak to know the perception and recognition of career counseling in school’s administration.

Recognition of the term and concept of career counseling in schools

Figure: 1 Study reveals that the term career counseling is completely new for more than 40 percent principals.

Career counseling is a new term in Nepal. Only a few top schools in Bhaktapur are using career counseling tools effectively.

How do the 58 percent of principal know the term career counseling?

Figure: 2. Most principals know Career Counseling through Social Media

Have the principals who know the term career counseling conducted some form of career counseling programs at their school?

No! The proper career counseling in school from career counseling expert is absent in all of the visited schools. Few of them informed us that they conduct some form of informative and advising counseling program at school. Such as motivation speech and student teacher career discussion program.

From 1-10, how do the principals rank the importance of career counseling in their schools?

 Figure:3. All the principals tend to believe that Career Counseling is utmost necessary

Career and educational choice of the students is important to the administration of the schools. 100% of the principals interviewed informed us that they know about their passed out students’ chosen career and education choice after SEE. According to them, the students most chosen career was management and science while only a few students choose the humanities and technical fields.

Figure 4: According the survey, most of the principal, 92%, felt the need of the career counseling for students.

Conclusion

Why is career counseling necessary in secondary school level?

It does not mean that only the confused students need the career counseling. Today, varieties of available career and education options and opportunity, which might be influenced students to pick up wrong education for the career. An Indian study shows that 1 in 3 students are unhappy with the course they picked. That is nearly half a million dissatisfied college students! Such figures only point to one clear truth – the importance of career guidance in schools.

The age group (14-18 years old) require career counseling the most. After grade 10 they need to decide the education for their career. A number of students pick specific subjects simply because their friends are opting for them while some decide according to their parents’ wishes. Only a few select subjects are based on their interests. Even this is usually chosen without knowing if their preferred subjects would lead them to their desired careers or not.

Career counselors believe that secondary schools are the platforms where students explore, experiment and enhance their life skills. It is during adolescence that they learn to communicate and interact with diverse groups, acquire problem-solving skills, polish their critical thinking abilities and recognize the importance of teamwork. Therefore, counselors suggest that secondary school students should be provided with appropriate career guidance in school level so that they can make informed decisions about their higher and professional studies.

Here are the few reasons that career counseling is important for students: 

• It helps the student understand their own strengths, interest, and values and lets them know what education and career they would be suited for.
• It helps students understand the career options that they fit in, and plan how to pursue them. It helps the students to build self-confident on their education and career decision. Subsequently, doing well in their chosen education field.
• It gives them a platform to voice their opinion about what they would like to pursue, as well as discuss the obstacles that they may be worried about. For example, with their parents.

Career counseling plays a vital role at crucial turning points in the lives of students. Students are seeking the good guidance and support in both their school and parents for their education and career. If the principal of the school understands the value of career counseling for students’ life and implements the necessary career counseling tools then the chances of the students reaching the career of their dream can be a possibility.

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On 16 of June 2018, Kingdom Star School’s Hostel coordinator, Suresh Kumar Khati organized the closing session of career counseling program for this year.

We conducted Career Orientation, Labour Market workshop, Psychometric Assessment, My Future Pro and Individual Career Counseling to 23 young students, age group of 14 to 19 years old.

On the closing program, there were 2 passed out students, studied Bachelor of Hotel Management and Registered Nurse. They shared their personal story, how do they come to choose the education they are studying.

Another guest, CDN COO, and Career Counselor Hari Krishna Dahal explained the importance of individual determination to be the success in any career. He has given the example of famous person from the different careers, Neeldavids Salon of Hair & Beauty and Fashion designer Prabal Gurung . He also added no jobs are small; anyone can do their interesting job and can be famous if one has regular effort and strong determination on the respective career only.

Similarly, students who have participated in career counseling program shared their experience of how they benefited from the CDN Services to choose the right career.And also, Mrs. Kamala khaati distributed the Psychometric Assessment Result to the students.

The chair person of the ceremony, coordinator Mr.Suresh Kumar Khati wraps up the program by telling how one person desires make the world different. Definitely, regular effort to gain the goal is prerequisite but nothing is impossible. “If the late Edmund Percival Hillary did not desire to climb the top of the Mountain Everest first time, he never could reach there, If the Steven Paul Jobs did not dream to provide people the smartest phone ever,  then today no one has I Phone.” So finding a desired career where individual interest, strength, and abilities met is the way of achieving success.

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On 16 of June 2018, Kingdom Star School’s Hostel coordinator, Suresh Kumar Khati organized the closing session of career counseling program for this year.

We conducted Career Orientation, Labour Market workshop, Psychometric Assessment, My Future Pro and Individual Career Counseling to 23 young students, age group of 14 to 19 years old.

On the closing program, there were 2 passed out students, studied Bachelor of Hotel Management and Registered Nurse. They shared their personal story, how do they come to choose the education they are studying.

Another guest, CDN COO, and Career Counselor Hari Krishna Dahal explained the importance of individual determination to be the success in any career. He has given the example of famous person from the different careers, Neeldavids Salon of Hair & Beauty and Fashion designer Prabal Gurung . He also added no jobs are small; anyone can do their interesting job and can be famous if one has regular effort and strong determination on the respective career only.

Similarly, students who have participated in career counseling program shared their experience of how they benefited from the CDN Services to choose the right career.And also, Mrs. Kamala Khaati distributed the Psychometric Assessment Result to the students.

The chair person of the ceremony, coordinator Mr.Suresh Kumar Khati wraps up the program by telling how one person desires make the world different. Definitely, regular effort to gain the goal is prerequisite but nothing is impossible. “If the late Edmund Percival Hillary did not desire to climb the top of the Mountain Everest first time, he never could reach there, If the Steven Paul Jobs did not dream to provide people the smartest phone ever,  then today no one has I Phone.” So finding a desired career where individual interest, strength, and abilities met is the way of achieving success.

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We conducted Career Orientation Program and Labour Market Workshop to 23 young students studying in Kingdom Star High School, Taukhel on 26th May 2018.

To explain the importance of having the specific target to the student our Career Counselor started the program by giving the example of pancha pandaba’s (five brothers) Arjuna of Mahabharata Kal (era) how he concentrated and focused in his target and hit the bull’s eyes. Similar manner, if the students know the specific career interest on time and study the respective educational courses then they will be reached the desired destination in the short period of time.

At the end of the interactive program, students learnt important of career counseling to have an informed career, important of working in the interested sector, expansive job sectors of Nepal, and their details. All day informative program runs by our Career counselor Hari Krishna Dahal with the help of Susma Lohola and Shrijana KC.

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We conducted Career Orientation Program and Labour Market Workshop to 23 young students studying in Kingdom Star High School, Taukhel on 26th May 2018.

To explain the importance of having the specific target to the student our Career Counselor started the program by giving the example of pancha pandaba’s (five brothers) Arjuna of Mahabharata Kal (era) how he concentrated and focused in his target and hit the bull’s eyes. Similar manner, if the students know the specific career interest on time and study the respective educational courses then they will be reach the desired destination in the short period of time.

At the end of the interactive program, students learnt important of career counseling to have an informed career, important of working in the interested sector, expansive job sectors of Nepal, and their details. All day informative program was ran by our Career counselor Hari Krishna Dahal with the help of Susma Lohola and Shrijana KC.

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Members from Career Disha Nepal had travelled all the way to Portugal in March this year (2018). There we learnt a lot amongst other, about how to hold workshops and to plan an effective scheduling focused on youth workers. We tried out all that we learnt in the 5 days ‘Career Helper Training’. We have consequently listed out the major 5 aspects we learnt from the ‘successful’+ training. (+we found that out through the reflective sessions)[fruitful_tabs type="accordion" width="100%" fit="false"] [fruitful_tab title="1.      Stay close to the context and stay focused"]Most training follows this, and it need not be reiterated that staying close to the target and not getting distracted by other topics is a must. What needs to be emphasized however is that the attendants do need to know the concrete targets and the expectations from the training. Understanding the final output of the training should be a priority.

Make sure that the training is well planned, written & documented and the plan is shared among the trainees.[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title="2.      The training members should get to know each other"]The training is not only between the trainees and trainer but also to a great extent between the trainees themselves. Especially for the youth workers, knowing the experiences of different organization and how different challenges were tackled is sometime greater than the content of the training itself. Getting to know the trainees closely, making them comfortable, helps the team to be open to each other which undoubtedly will bring the best in each of us. Partnership and networking is therefore created without much friction.

Create a lot of team building games. Be certain that the trainees know each other’s names and understand their organizations closely.  [/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title="3.      Make it FUN"]Youth workers need to extrapolate all that they have learnt and need to use their experience to their youths. Youths amongst other things, cannot (or will not) retain a lot of information if they are bored. One can make the training interesting by using more than 1 method for disseminating information. Examples can include PowerPoint, Drawing, Story-telling, training related games etc.

Recognize if the audience is getting bored and when they are, use related games and energizers to spice up the learning technique.[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title="4.      Move on to practical real-life examples after the theoretical knowledge if possible"]How exactly does learning about the youth psychology help the youth workers to better understand the youths? How does understanding the labour market help youths better orient their education? Understanding is just one step, making the learning outcomes become visible is what needs to happen.

Make sure that the youth-centred-trainings explain the direct practical benefits and use the training time, through various methods, to actually show how to use the learning in real life.[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title="5.      Reflect upon the training at the end of the day"]What use of the training if it does not include personal voices? Reflecting on the training session can better orient the trainers as well as trainees. It too can enhance the relationship between the two.

Make sure that the trainees get ample time to reflect on what they have learnt. It can be done in a group at the end of each of the training session.[/fruitful_tab] [/fruitful_tabs]

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To create responsible, sustainable and reflective youth workers capable to implement career counseling base to their organizations or independently, CDN conducted the 5 days career helper training which was started at 16^th   of April and end at 20^th  of April 2018. The 5 day training program was focused at using various career counseling tools to explore youth potential. Through this training, the trainees were certified Career Helpers, who are able to:

1. Use career counseling tools to understand youths personality, professional orientation, interest
2. Provide accurate information regarding career options and education using Job and Educational Database
3. Hold and coordinate labour market workshops and career orientation
4. Recognize what counseling is and what is it NOT

The 5 days interactive program was run by Career Disha Nepal.

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To create responsible, sustainable and reflective youth workers capable to implement career counseling base to their organizations or independently, CDN conducted the 5 days career helper training from 16^th  of April to 20^th  of April 2018. The 5 day training program was focused at using various career counseling tools to explore youth potential. Through this training, the trainees were certified Career Helpers, who are able to:

1. Use career counseling tools to understand youth's personality, professional orientation and interest.
2. Provide accurate information regarding career options and education using Job and Educational Database.
3. Hold and co-ordinate labour market workshops and career orientation workshop.
4. Recognize what counseling is and what it is NOT.

The 5 days interactive program was run by Career Disha Nepal.

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We conducted parents’ orientation, Labour Market workshop, Psychometric Assessment, and Individual Career Counseling for 18 students of Children Home, Tathali.

In the first day, we discussed with parents of ‘Children Home’. The aim of the parents’ orientation was to help the parents to help children to orient educational choices they can have according to their interest, abilities, and values.

In the same day, we conducted Labour Market workshop to the young students. Students were really excited to know about the vastness of Nepali job market. The workshop started with ice-breaker game to be familiar with the students. At the same time, we divided the students into different groups where they discussed about the different job sectors in Nepal.

From the fun learning workshop’s session, students got to know about the available jobs, employers, ideal qualities, and respective job activities for 20 sectors. In the first day, there were 3 facilitators to eliminate the career queries of the youths.

In the second day, the students took Psychometric Assessment which is one of the career counseling tools, used to find career options based on individual personality, professional and vocational orientation along with interest in tasks. The last day, we distributed counselor recommended Psychometric Assessment results along with individual career counseling where the youths were able to personally talk to the career counselor to understand their personality in detail as well as list out the career and education options for future.

These 3 days program helped youth to know about themselves better and the career option they can follow.

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