Career counselling may reduce youth crime and violence

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RON COLLINS, a Guidance Counsellor at the Basseterre High School (BHS), has lauded the introduction of career counselling but warned that it must be implemented “so it captures the needs of our children”.

Speaking exclusively with SKNVibes, Collins urged the Ministry of Education to begin the programme in the primary schools as opposed to secondary schools. He noted that this move would result in students receiving more guidance about possible careers at an earlier age.

“We wouldn’t expect children to be definite about their choice of career at that age and I’m not suggesting we bombard them with too much information. But through fun activities such as career fairs, we can expose them early to the myriad professions out there so when they enter high school they have a clearer idea of which subjects to do,” said the Counsellor.

He further stated that career guidance should be a mandatory part of the curriculum once students are in secondary school. He however stressed that in order for it to function properly, the ‘school culture’ would need to change and schools would have to be given sufficient resources to effectively serve the programme.

“Firstly,” Collins said, “what I mean by school culture is the stigma attached to technical and vocational subjects. They’re not marketed as positively as they should be, so persons who are advised to explore these options feel as though they’re being shunted into an alternative system and become de-motivated. Developing a skill is a viable career option and the responsibility is on the education community to convey this to students.”

“Furthermore, the counselling programme will not survive if it consists of simply telling students what subjects they should do to get into sixth form. There needs to be more resources within the school so persons who want to explore the technical or vocational opportunities are able to do so freely,” he said.

With the addition of these recommendations, Collins believes there would be a reduction in youth crime and violence. He stated that their change of behaviour would be the result of their positive and meaningful engagement.

“Once persons are interested in what they’re doing and aren’t being made to feel inferior, I do believe we will see a change for the better. Right now crime is high and there are a lot of programmes coming on-stream to deal with the issue. Instead of haphazardly going about it, we need to take a step back and ensure we’re not just treating the symptoms,” he warned.