THE MEANING OF VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The choice of a career or vocation is one of the most important decisions an individual makes in life. This is because apart from being a means of livelihood and survival, a person’s career is a kind of identity. Moreover your vocation/career determines the kind of friends you have, and affects your attitude, behaviour, values as well as priorities.

Since the choice of a vocation has such far-reaching effects in the life of individuals, it does invariably affect the family, the society and the nation in various ways. Such a critical choice should therefore not be based on mere guesswork, chance or even circumstances. As much as possible, it should be a clearly objective and informed decision. This is the essence and aim of vocational guidance.

The Meaning of Vocational Guidance 

It is necessary for us to first of all understand what “Guidance” means before we start discussing vocational guidance.

 What is Guidance?

Guidance generally involves helping, advising, steering, guiding, leading, piloting, channeling and directing an individual towards specific, desirable actions, behaviours, decisions and opinions that are most beneficial to him/her and to some extent, the society.

Guidance can also be described as an on-going process aimed at helping an individual towards decisions/actions that can lead to self-realization, self-fulfillment, self-reliance and self-actualization while ensuring that the environment/society benefits maximally from such decisions/actions.

Guidance is an art as well as a systematic process aimed at helping individuals achieve, self-consciousness, self-understanding and self- direction necessary for maximum adjustment at home, school and in the society. Guidance involves several services provided for an individual to help him/her deal effectively with his/her needs, challenges and problems of life.

It is important to mention that “Guidance and Counselling” is a comprehensive term given to guidance activities. The difference between the two is rather slim and mutually over-lapping. Both the word “Guidance” and “Counselling” are therefore seen as two sides of the same coin.

Principles of Guidance

Since guidance involves some systematic principles, those principles, must be properly followed in order to achieve the desired goals.

The principles of guidance:

• Guidance is concerned primarily with the all-round development and well being of the individual. 
• Guidance is based primarily on individual behavioural processes. 
• Guidance is geared towards co-operation, not compulsion or coercion. 
• Guidance is based on recognizing the dignity and worth of individuals as well as their right to choose. 
• Guidance is a continuous, sequential, educational process. 
• Guidance is for everybody, irrespective of age or status. 
•  Guidance focuses on the welfare of the individual and that of the society. 

Types of Guidance

There are three major types of Guidance. They are:

• Vocational Guidance or career guidance 
•  Educational Guidance 
• Personal-Social Guidance 

Other Guidance services include the following: 

•  Informal services 
• Appraisal services 
• Counselling services 
• Planning, placement and follow-up services, and 
•  Referral services 

However, we must remember that our major emphasis in this course is on vocational guidance. Our discussions therefore will be mainly on this type of guidance.