Careers’ Week 2007, August 13 – 17-All jobs are important, students told |14 August 2007
This was said by the principal secretary for Education Jeanne Simeon while officially
It was under the theme Value all jobs – Meet the manpower needs that this year’s ceremony to launch Careers’ Week was held at the English River Secondary School compound Monday morning (August 13).
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Minister for Education Bernard Shamlaye, the Minister for Employment & Human Resources Development Macsuzy Mondon, the principal secretaries and other officials from the two ministries, parents, teachers, pupils especially secondary students from around the country and other guests.
During the launching ceremony the principal secretary for Health, Dr Jude Gédéon, presented Mrs Simeon with a sample of career information materials to be used in schools.
The two dozen stands in the one-day fair were set up in the school’s classrooms.
In her address Mrs Simeon emphasized the fact that in all the jobs that we perform we are not only earning a living but also providing a service to our fellow citizens as well as creating our country’s wealth and contributing to the socio-economic development of our nation.
Mrs Simeon pointed out that sometimes we feel that some jobs are being perceived as having less value and less importance than others if we consider the fact that everyday the newspaper and television advertise a long list of job vacancies among which some appear repeatedly.
She said it is worrying to note that many of these jobs are in the tourism sector, a sector that is regarded as the pillar of our economy.
She said that with the rate of development in the country, more job opportunities will be available in all sectors of our economy and if we want to meet the manpower needs of our country we need to value the importance of each and every job as each has an invaluable role to play in the country’s development.
Mrs Simeon pointed out that apart from education and training to acquire knowledge and skills required to perform effectively in our respective jobs, we also need to develop and adopt positive attitudes towards the jobs we choose.
“One may have the highest qualifications but without the right attitudes, the job loses its value,” she said.
She called on students and young people to seize the opportunities being offered to them to build a successful career and for those young people seeking employment she called on them to come forward and find out about existing vacancies and their requirements.
She said that the Careers’ Fair aims to provide much needed information about training, employment opportunities as well as promoting positive attitudes for wise career choices.
Like every year the various stands reflect the desire of employers within government and non-government organizations to ensure that students, parents and visitors alike get all the required information. There were people on hand to provide any further clarifications.
At the start of the fair large groups of students had gathered at stands mounted by the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF), National Institute for Health & Social Services (NIHSS) and the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) but they gradually moved to other stands which were all providing interesting information including video footage of training provided by their institutions.
As is the case every year, this year’s Careers’ Week includes a series of activities such as open days at various training institutions, career guidance talks, radio and TV programmes and visits to work places by students.