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‘Beneficial’ to expose students early to career options

SINGAPORE — Some wondered whether a degree in medicine is needed to be an allied healthcare worker, while others decided to leave junior college to pursue a polytechnic diploma instead.

Riyadh (seen here with his mother) has set his mind on being an early-childhood teacher. Photo: Riyadh Al-Muttaqin

Riyadh (seen here with his mother) has set his mind on being an early-childhood teacher. Photo: Riyadh Al-Muttaqin

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SINGAPORE — Some wondered whether a degree in medicine is needed to be an allied healthcare worker, while others decided to leave junior college to pursue a polytechnic diploma instead.

These are some of the experiences of students as they ponder over their next step shared by Mr Steven Wu, currently an education and career guidance counsellor with the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Mr Wu has been working with schools since July, as one of the 50 career counsellors who are being deployed in phases to secondary schools and junior colleges and centralised institutes this year, as part of a SkillsFuture initiative to provide more guidance to students on their career and study choices.

Said Mr Wu: “The students come in to talk about their interests and educational options … quite a number of them know what they want to do … while sometimes there is also a need to manage their expectations.” Mr Wu is currently attached to Anglo-Chinese Junior College, Jurong Junior College, Pioneer Junior College and Millennia Institute.

The MOE said that each of its career counsellors will be attached to about five schools, and there will be 100 such counsellors in schools and the tertiary institutes by 2017. Besides providing counselling, career counsellors will also work with teachers to organise career fairs or industry talks to give students more exposure of the local job market.

First-year Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Riyadh Al-Muttaqin, 17, is one who can attest to the importance of early exposure of the various career options. After a school visit to a childcare centre at the end of Primary Six, he set his mind on being an early-childhood teacher and continued to seek advice from his teachers and family to stay on track to his goal.

“I learnt to put aside my fears that early childhood is a female-dominated industry and to focus on my passion and what I know I do best,” he said.

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