YOUNG PEOPLE MUST CHOOSE CAREERS BASED ON APTITUDE, INTEREST AND POTENTIAL. SARDAR ALI SHAH
SINDH EDUCATION MINISTER LAUNCHES “UNDERSTANDING CAREER COUNSELING”, A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS, PARENTS AND INSTITUTIONS
Karachi August 19: Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah has said that in an age of rapidly expanding information and opportunities, career guidance and counseling for young people has become more important than ever. He stressed the need to support students in choosing fields according to their interests, abilities and aptitude so that they can better understand their potential and achieve success in the future. He expressed these views while addressing the launch ceremony of Syed Raza Abidi’s book “Understanding Career Counseling” at DHA Suffa University, where he attended as the chief guest.
The event was attended by author Raza Abidi, DHA Suffa University Vice Chancellor Brigadier (R) Professor Dr. Ahmed Saeed Minhas, Greenwich University Vice Chancellor Dr. Seema Mughal, Bahria University Karachi Director General Vice Admiral Athar Mukhtar, Muhammad Mubeen Jumani, as well as a large number of faculty members and students.
Congratulating Raza Abidi on writing a book focused on guiding young people, Syed Sardar Ali Shah said that showing the right direction to youth is one of the most important needs of the present era. Career counseling helps young people understand their abilities, interests and the opportunities available to them in the future. He said that young people today have countless opportunities to move forward, but what they need most is proper guidance. As new fields and professions continue to emerge around the world, students must be made aware not only of traditional career paths but also of new and emerging opportunities.
Syed Sardar Ali Shah advised young people not to choose a field simply because it is currently trending, but to consider their own interests and abilities. He said that success often comes from work with which a person has an emotional connection and genuinely enjoys doing. “We should not only ask our children what they want to become; we should also ask them what they enjoy doing,” he said, adding that young people possess different abilities and therefore need different opportunities and career pathways.
The minister said that when parents complain that their children do not understand them, perhaps the first step should be for adults to make an effort to understand the children. He said that understanding Generation Z requires communicating with them, listening to them and giving importance to their questions and concerns. He further said that young people need to understand that there are many paths to success and that their destination should not be limited to what society has predetermined for them.
He termed “Understanding Career Counseling” a valuable source of guidance for students, parents and educational institutions. Speaking on the occasion, author Raza Abidi said that students should have comprehensive information about their future and career choices. They should know which field best matches their abilities and, if they intend to study or work abroad, which country would be suitable and what requirements they would need to fulfill.
He said every student should receive proper career guidance. If a student is not good at mathematics, he or she should avoid choosing a mathematics-related field as a profession. Similarly, if a student lacks strong communication skills, pursuing a career such as marketing may prove challenging. Raza Abidi said that if a student is not suited to engineering, choosing the field merely because of social pressure or current trends could have negative consequences. The fundamental purpose of career counseling, he said, is to help individuals understand their abilities and interests and make informed decisions about their future.
He said “Understanding Career Counseling” could be particularly helpful for students who are confused about their future. The book is intended to assist students in making informed career choices, while a special discount has also been offered for students. Greenwich University Vice Chancellor Dr. Seema Mughal and other speakers also addressed the ceremony. Later, Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah, along with other participants, formally launched “Understanding Career Counseling.”