Life Orientation Career Clubs District Launches
17 April 2024
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) launched career clubs in every district in the province during March.
The launch events were well attended by senior management team members of high schools, Life Orientation teachers and members of the Representative Council of Learners (RCL’s).
The programme allowed for dynamic interaction with learners posing important questions to the presenters which included representatives from education partners like Old Mutual (financial literacy), Capitec Bank (bank accounts), former learners who have become entrepreneurs and educational psychologists.
Learners and teachers acknowledged the importance of career clubs and the impact that it would have on changing the school culture. These engagements embodied the vision of the career clubs which is to create a dynamic, stimulating and exciting platform in high schools, where learners and teachers experience the transformative power of Life Orientation.
A career club provides the opportunity for learners to engage in practical career-related activities and engagements. The clubs bridge the gap between careers as practised by professionals and career planning in the classroom or school. In this realm, career clubs will help to foster the development of career focus reasoning and problem–solving skills based on engagements and evidence evaluation. These interactions over time inculcate and embed in learners a culture of career investigation and literacy.
The high adult-learner ratios in the clubs provide an opportunity for learners to experience individualised learning approaches and to develop a keen sense of themselves as young ‘professionals’, something which is far removed from their normal classroom experience. Career clubs boost the self-esteem and confidence of learners, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds who have far more challenging realities in their communities to deal with. These learners are more likely to be engaged with careers and to enrol their interests and passion into it. Shy or unassertive learners also get the opportunity to undertake leadership roles, develop their sense of ownership of these clubs and to come out of their shells and re-invent themselves.
