Career counselling in South African institutions of higher learning in the 21st century : re-discovering the potential of qualitative approaches

Abstract

In South Africa, as in many other countries, concern is growing about rising unemployment. The impact is felt not only on the lives of millions of people but also on the national economy where the required six per cent economic growth rate has not been achieved. A review of the literature on the South African tertiary training system reveals that inadequate career counselling tends to reinforce the low social and economic position of poor and marginalised people in South Africa. Very few disadvantaged students ever receive adequate career counselling at school and often arrive at institutions of higher learning without a clear sense of what their prospective careers will entail. Intervention programmes to correct this situation have not achieved the state’s goals in this regard.