BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – YESTERDAY (June 17), pupils of the Deane Glasford Primary School discarded their uniforms and donned those of teachers, doctors, accounts, lawyers, pastors, law enforcement officers and a myriad of other professionals, as the institution held its Second Annual Career Day Fair.
In preparation for the day’s event, the students were asked to submit a project detailing their dream job, reasons for their selections and the requirements of that particular career.
Additionally, throughout the day, professionals from the world of work visited the school to give motivational speeches to the students. According to Grade Six teacher Jean Boddie, local entrepreneur Khrystus Wallace and a member from the Royal St. Christopher-Nevis Police Force were among those who made appearances. Representatives from the legal, health and teaching fraternities, as well as the President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mark Wilkin, were also scheduled to appear.
Boddie revealed that the idea for the Fair came from advice given by an education officer several weeks ago.
“It’s common for the high schools to have event such as this one, but I had never really heard of it being done before at our level. But the advice I got from the education officer was that it made more sense to start having career fairs in the primary schools. Once the students are exposed to the different professions and are able to decide early which one they prefer, then when they get to high school they will know what subjects to take,” she explained.
The teacher also expounded on the Fair’s importance, noting it was an event the school took seriously and would continue to have every year.
“We (career fair organisers) don’t want the project to be taken in isolation and become only applicable to our school. We want it to be a springboard through which youth in every community can understand the importance of making proper choices, having goals and staying focused to achieve them,” Boddie said.
