PATHWAYS TO PROFESSIONS (PART TWO)

PATHWAYS TO PROFESSIONS (PART TWO)

My dear countrymen, very recently, it was reported in the news that the DEPED lacks guidance counselors, and Education Secretary Sonny Angara was calling for help to solve that problem. I think that it is important for Congress to respond to Angara’s call, because without proper counseling, it would be difficult for the students to be guided in what professions they should pursue, as early as possible.

As an ICT practitioner and consultant, the first idea that comes to mind is that the DEPED should have a database of the student’s educational performance, along with their known aptitude. If DEPED could have that, then we could use data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to derive possible professional directions of choices that the student could take. No, I am not saying that AI could take the place of guidance counselors, all I am saying is that AI could be used as a tool by the guidance counselors.

As of now, most students may not have the ability to choose the academic “tracks” that are most suited to them, such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Accounting, Business and Management (ABM). Of course, students might have their own “got feel” about what tracks they should pursue perhaps based on their own grades, but who knows that a guidance counselor using AI could guide them better what to choose?

When I was in high school, I never had the chance to visit a newspaper publisher or a radio station. Later in my life, I became a writer and editor, and as a radio and television host. Who knows that I might have chosen the professions of being a publisher or a broadcaster if I was given the right guidance early in my youth? Or if a guidance counselor might have discovered those hidden skills in me before? I also never set foot in a courthouse or a law office in my youth, so I never thought of becoming a lawyer. Even in college, nobody encouraged me to take that path.

As I understand it, some schools hold what they call “career days”, wherein guest professionals will tell the young audience of students’ real stories about their jobs, including the pros and cons of it. since nothing beats hearing it “from the horse’s” mouth so to speak, it would really help the audience to think about their own career paths, with the help of their teachers and guidance counselors of course.

Aside from the “career days”, I think that it would be a good idea to organize site visits to the offices of professionals such as lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers and accountants. These could be done with the assistance of professional organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and United Architects of the Philippines (UAP).

I also think that we should encourage the young people to choose their professions based on the demand data, meaning based on what the country needs. For example, the data shows that the country needs more doctors and dentists. In that case, the students should be encouraged to choose the STEM track, so that they could eventually take up medicine and dentistry. As an option, they could also become scientists, engineers or math teachers.  Your friend, IKE SENERES/12-16-24/visit my blog senseneres.blogspot.com

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