Abstract
M.Phil.
The explosion of knowledge during the past century resulted in the orlgln of
many new types of jobs as well as greater specialisation within jobs.
Making a career decision became a complicated process. Although low level
workers comprise a great number of the work force in this country,
assistance with career planning to this group is limited. Because of this,
many of them often find themselves in jobs in which they are not happy,
either because their interests or abilities are irreconcileable with the job
requirements or they do not adjust well to their working environment.
To combat unemployment in the case of unskilled workers, the government
yearly allocates an amount of money for training purposes. A large amount
of this money is channeled to the nine regional training centres in the
country. At the moment the only selection criterium for courses at these
centres, is basically, a minimum education level. Career maturity to make a
meaningful decision as well as the student's occupational interests are not
taken into consideration as such.
To ensure that the most suitable person is found for a certain position,
some employers make use of scientific selection techniques, others not. In
most cases tertiary institutions render vocational guidance to students and
psychometric selection takes place before allowing them to enroll for a
particular course. Lately, even at school, the abovementioned procedures
are in operation. When children at school have to choose certain subjects,
they have to write psychometric tests before a decision can be made. The
question arises as to why trainees at regional training centres are not
treated in the same way as students at the other training institutions...