Career Counseling

Perhaps more so than ever before, Somalia’s young people start thinking about careers early in life. Whereas about a decade earlier, when every Somali girl and boy dreamt of becoming a doctor, engineer, or an economist, today the options seem to have expanded manifolds. In fact, notions are changing what constitutes a “good” career.

Career planning in Somalia is an absolute state of bedlam; and is a new term for most of Somali parents and academicians. Confusion reigns supreme from secondary school students to those in their final year of master’s studies. These students are unsure of what they want to do once they are in the professional world.

Generally career counseling is not available in Somalia’s higher schools and universities. Once out of their secondary schools, Somali students feel confused about their career choice. There are few, if any, higher secondary schools that take any interest in students’ career prospects; the emphasis is more on grades not on careers. Whether the Somali youth is studying in the country or abroad, one does not know his or her potential. Unfortunately, Somali student are not counseled by their parents and teachers; rather they are influenced by peers and what is trendy. Most of Somali parents are not educated enough to provide the necessary counseling required.

The general phenomenon in Somalia is that students do not pursue the studies they excel in or are passionate about, but rather study those disciplines that will arm them with the necessary skills to fill in the latest trendy careers. Another shocking fact is that the Somali youth often do employ ‘trial and error method’ to adjudge their aptitude by shifting from one field to completely a different one.

Trends in Somalia

In today’s Somalia, as it has been so long time, Medicine and engineering are highly in demand because they are the only disciplines admired by all Somalis regardless of their education and income. Business Administration and Information Technology are considered to be a golden ticket. Likewise, with the growth of various private FM radios and TV channels across the country, careers in the media are currently a hot option for young men and women.

According to a preliminary observation made by AEC, Somali students who got the opportunity of overseas higher education do enroll to not more than 15 disciplines despite the availability of other disciplines which are importance for Somalia. Among the fields that are greatly neglected by Somali students is ‘Agricultural Sciences’ despite the fact that Somalia’s economy is mainly agro-based. This will definitely create an imbalance of the educated sector in the years to come.

AEC’s counseling programs

Though there is no dearth of young talent in the country, there certainly needs to be a center where these students can get a sense of direction that can guide them towards becoming productive citizens while pursuing what comes naturally to them, not what market forces will dictate.

Afro Education Consulting offers career planning and one-to-one consultation. To use this service, students will need to arrange a meeting with AEC counselors. It is helpful if the student can attend this meeting with his or her parents or guardian.

Furthermore, AEC will organize seminars for the students in their final year of higher secondary school to give first-hand information about the general information regarding the different disciplines and their future growth. To provide this service, AEC will invite Somali speakers who have the qualification and work experience of the specific field under discussion. The participants of such seminars will have the opportunity to interact with the counselors.

Bridge between graduates and employers

Besides the career planning, AEC aspires to act as the bridge between students and employers. AEc will cooperate with both the public and private sectosr to recruit the qualified students.

In order to prepare students for competitive market, AEC will provide the following services to the graduates:

• Job search techniques
• CV writing skills
• Preparing for a job interview
• Presentation skills