By Hon. Arinaitwe Katambuka Rwakajara, Workers MP.
Second part on Excerpts from my book titled “Value your Labour”
The International covenant on Economic , Social and Cultural Rights states in Part III, Article 6: That the States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he or she freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.
The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include technical and vocational guidance and training programs, policies and techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Article 15 states:” Every Individual shall have the right to work under equitable and satisfactory conditions and shall receive equal pay for equal work.
Choosing a Career
Young people in Uganda are first presented with the idea of a career choice at about the age of 14, when in Senior Two of Secondary school they are required to choose what subjects they would like to specialize in . This choice is made on the basis of availability, teacher advise and peer pressure. Therefore someone with no interest or skill in languages could very well find themselves learning French, instead of exploring an inborn talent in Home Economics, or even sports.
The lack of meaningful career guidance continues into the choice of “A” Level subjects where students often lack any mentorship. Some students will be forced into a subject choice because they have been branded “weak” and therefore unable to do anything tougher. Others will choose science subjects because they believe the job outcome will be more “prestigious”.
Every Arts student will have Law as first choice to university without any idea of the real requirements of the job or saturation in the job market. This gap in career guidance has led to some alarming effects and trends, most notable of which is unhappy people in careers or jobs they have no business trying. For instance using Nursing as an option for “weak” or underprivileged Senior 4 leavers, or sending people who fail to get Law to become teachers instead.
In the confusion, there are a few pointers by which you can clear out your own career path and size up your options. The very first step is to know yourself, and you do this by making an assessment of your personality, your skills, your values and your interests.
Personality refers to understanding what kind of human being you are .Do you work well with others or do you prefer to be solitary?. Are you outgoing ,shy, determined or bold?. The answers to such questions will give you an indication of what you would be more suited to doing.
Skills refer to the things you are good at doing, whether through some training or naturally. For instance are you the one to whom people always bring their electronics for fixing?. Do you have a natural ability with animals?. Are you an excellent MC or debate club captain?. Are you an amazing dancer?. Every skill is useful in the quest for employment, even skills that may seem irrelevant can point us to a particular career path. .Match your skills to potential careers and figure out how to develop them.
Values point us to what is most important in our lives, think of them as your guiding compass. For instance, are you grounded by your faith?. Do you value family?. Is it more important to you to be near family, or are you open to migrating to another country?. Values motivate every personal decision, and will therefore motivate career decisions.
Interests are simply the things we like . We may not be skilled at an interest, but we would be happy to spend time on it. For instance are you a creative person?. Would you rather spend time reading or matching sports?. Do you have a scientific inclination?. Are you an outdoors or indoors kinld of person?. Do you like to follow the new , or are you politically aware?.
Where you are not sure about the answers to these questions, it is important to have some form of mentorship or guidance from a trusted third party. The important thing to remember is that whether you’re making high school subject choices, just graduated or you’ve been working for five years and you can always make a career adjustment.
As soon as you work out what you are good at and what you love to do, it is always possible to push your work in that direction. Careers, like people, are dynamic and always evolving.
The second crucial step in choosing a career is knowing what opportunities are available Yes , you want to be an astronaut, but you cannot possible do that in Ugandan right now. On the other hand , there are opportunities in aeronautic engineering , which you can eventually use as a springboard into space should an opportunity present itself itself. The key is that if you know what is available, you can adjust accordingly or use it as a stepping stone. Ask yourself, what can I do with this subject?. Be as creative as possible with the answers.
The third and final step is to made a decision and take action in that direction. This is often a very neglected step. Young people often think they have made a career decision, when it has actually been made for them. As a result, they do not put 100 per cent into pursuing that decision. And in the end they fail to find work and blame it on everyone but themselves.
All the good planning in the world is useless until you step out and do something to put your plans into action.
About the Author
Hon Arinaitwe Katambuka Rwakajara is a Member of Parliament representing workers and Director of the Labour College of East Africa
