Education minister advises students on selecting the right career path

Minister of Education, the Rev Ronald Thwaites, is reiterating his advice for students to choose their career paths wisely and select subjects that will advance their vocational goals.

"Ask your teachers, ask your mentors in your schools to help you to choose very carefully what subjects you take. Taking 10 and 12 CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) subjects and all the CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination) subjects, that's good, but taking a few less and doing really well at them, if they are pointed in the direction of your career interests, probably will serve you better. Think carefully what choices you make," he urged.

The education minister was speaking to high-school students at the fifth Junior Achievement Company of Entrepreneurs (JACE) annual general meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

The minister is also encouraging students, in making career choices, to explore options other than the traditional professions of law or medicine.

He noted that with more than 200 new lawyers being admitted to practise this year and probably the same or a larger number of doctors, the market will soon become oversaturated with these professionals.

He underlined the importance of technical and vocational subjects in developing a well-rounded workforce with the capability to meet the demands of the global job market and contribute to nation building.

Rev Thwaites noted that today's job market requires persons who possess marketable skills which include "things that you can do with your hands, things that you can use your intellectual powers to achieve, for example, information technology."

More than 600 students from 35 high schools benefited from business training at the JACE AGM. They were engaged in company-building sessions; coaching sessions in marketing, public relations, finance, human resources, production and leadership; and skill-building exercises.

JACE is a four-month practical learning experience that involves students operating a business while being taught the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business operations by private-sector volunteers through a structured curriculum.