This past Friday, GHEI staff and volunteers presented the annual Career Opportunity Lecture Series, a chance for students in their second year of Junior High School (JHS) to get a look at what sort of careers are out there, how you can achieve it, and how to properly register for Senior High School (SHS).
I was a
bit surprised when we started this event on time, but not a bit surprised when
I heard us starting this event as we do all, with pulse-pounding dance music, even at 10 am on a weekday. The JHS students lining up to register for
the event didn't seem to notice. Were
they too cool too dance? The sullenness
of adolescence is a universal truth…
When all
86 students from the schools in Humjibre and Muoho had taken the bright,
plastic chairs, Happy began explaining what the purpose of the day was, and the
minute details of the schedule. Happy had assured me the day before, there
would be no delays! He even pounded his fist into his hand, like he was
striking a gong...it scared me a little.
After the assembled 86 students were divided up into
four separate groups according to a coloured name tag, and sent off to a
particular station, they would then rotate once they heard Happy's
whistle. The whistle would signal that
20 minutes was over and they had five minutes to migrate to the next station,
where a last shrill blast would summon the different leaders to begin. I told you he was serious... |
| Brown and Felicity |
SESSION 1: BROWN and FELICITY: School/Subject Career Match. How do you register for courses in SHS?
What are some of the areas that you would focus on in Senior High Schools? If you study General Arts in SHS, what
careers could this lead to?
Student 1: I like science, but I don't
know this word “Botanist”.
Felicity: A botanist is someone who
studies trees and plants. They could be
employed by environment protection agency or by natural resource ministries or
these things...
Student 2: I want to be a football
player. Do I need to study these
things? Brown: Well, any of these would be okay to study as long as you are good enough to join the football team. But what if you are injured? What will your career be then?
 |
| Saga and Emmanuel |
SESSION 2: EMMANUEL AND SAGA:
Technical and Vocational Education.
What is offered at these schools? What
sort of careers can you follow from there?
Where are these schools in Ghana?
Saga: My dear brothers and sisters, don't
think of technical institutions as doing carpentry work or things like this, no.
It's not only that. It is helping your great nation develop and to progress. We all want to have our electricity, to have our water to flow
freely though our pipes, to have our phones work, what? Constantly! And we want to have better
internet services. My question, where do
the technicians who provide these services come from? Of course! It is through technical and vocational
education. The government of Ghana has put aside about 100 million US dollars to help
vocational education-
Emmanuel: Just so you have an idea, one US
dollar is equal to 15,000 Ghana Cedis.
So if you translate that, that is 15 Billion...or wait...
Saga: That is old currency, but in
new currency...it would be....something like...
Emmanuel: Yes, well, anyway, you can see the government thinks it's
important. |
| Amoako and Jen |
SESSION 3: JEN and AMOAKO. Job
and Skills Match. What skills
and qualities do you need in certain fields?
What are some qualities that apply to all?
Jen: What does time management mean?
Student 1: It means to manage your time.
Jen (frowns): Hm...Okay...Yes, it means to manage your time. But that means to plan well. If you have homework that is due on wednesday, you don't wait until Tuesday night to do it all.
Amoako: What jobs do you see on this list that demand good time management skills?
Student 2: Journalist. *more timid hands go up
Jen: Don't wait! Just yell out an answer! YELL!
 |
| Degraft and Powerpoint |
SESSION 4: BRIGHT and DEGRAFT
and a powerpoint presentation. Career Review:Looking
at Options with What
are some of the careers that have been mentioned so far but you would like to
know more about? Let's review them...
Bright : An Engineer is someone who was
trained in the making of machines, roads, buildings, and many more. They would need to have studied this in
University and in SHS they would have focussed on science. They work very hard, and here in Ghana, just
like doctors, nurses, technicians, and other science fields, they are in very
high demand! We need more! Please
support your nation!
 |
| "Kids in America don't waste their time on the internet!" Uhh... |
After
all the sessions were done (and whistles blown) and the students had their midday
meatpie snack, it was time for the lectures.
A statistician from the Bibiani District Government office, a nurse from
Bekwai Clinic, a senior high school teacher at Bekwai SHS, and a catholic
priest all offered their thoughts.
Each
talked at length about their struggles to get to where they are now, and each
commented on how much Ghana has changed since they were children. For many of them, the idea of electricity
coming into some homes was hard to think of as they studied at night by
lantern. For some, there wasn't even a
JHS in their village and they would have to walk kilometres to get to
one. But all had a very similar message,
“Have a goal, have a destination. And
make a road map to get there.”
Internet
was really invented by a number of people, through a process of connecting
computers in the early 1970's. Computers
back then were as big as some of these student’s mud-brick houses. And now this priest, who studied by candle
light and walked 3 kilometers on dirt roads in Ghana at the same time that
supercomputers were being strung together in southern California, has a
computer in his pocket. 