Economic and technological developments are leading to evolving and increasing careers and business opportunities. Still, students face high levels of unemployment and employers complain about the difference between the skills graduates acquire in school and the ones demanded by the job market.
Many students also find themselves pursuing courses that they have no passion for. This disconnect between what a student chooses to pursue in school and what they eventually do in life causes frustration and is expensive.
Thus, students need to be smart about the courses they pursue. They need to plan for their careers. A career plan makes motivates you to work hard and with enthusiasm.
There are enough guidelines on how to go about choosing a career or a university course and it’s advisable that one spends some time to acquaint themselves with the same.
One of the best way is to have mentor or several mentors who have gone through the university/college system or those doing what you are planning to do. Balance the advice they give you with the economical and personality realities of the world we live in.
The chosen career should suit you and enable you to feed you and look after your family. It should allow you to be a productive citizen who can make a difference in the world. Why qualify and pursue what you imagine is a prestigious career if it will only frustrate you and not inspire you to perform at your best?
In Kenya, Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) is responsible for placing students to university/college courses that they are qualified for. What to consider when choosing courses at the KUCCPS portal:
- Ensure that the course you are choosing is accredited by both the CUE and the related professional body. For medicine, the courses should be accredited by the Medical Practitioners & Dentists Board, for Engineering, the courses should be accredited by the Engineers Board of Kenya, for Law courses, by the Council of Legal Education and so forth. This information is available public and can be checked online in the respective professional body website.
- Ensure that you’re qualified for the course grade wise and by the cut off points for the particular course. When in doubt, choose a course and a university where you have the highest probability of getting selected.
- Have a mentor to guide you in the process. Be careful with the advice you receive. A doctor may advise you to pursue medicine, an engineer may advise you to pursue engineering, and a teacher may persuade you to pursue teaching. Balance what people tell you with your innate abilities and desires. While others can guide you, ultimately, you will be the one who will end up in a career that you will love or loathe. We all learn values through modelling others. Who you hold up as a role model can help you determine which values matter to you. When to it comes to career planning, seek models who display positive values for success and happiness.
Qualities of good role models:
- Passion and ability to inspire
- Integrity (doing the right thing according to your values).
- Commitment to giving back (to society and their community)
- Acceptance of others (person who does not discriminate and is happy to work or socialize with anyone)
- Tenacity (ability to persevere, never give up)
For many students, choosing a course is a simple decision, but most students who enter college/university do not know which course to select or which career they may be best suited for.
Before you actively begin planning your course or career, consider several truths about courses and their effect on careers. If you want to be a nurse, you must major in nursing. Engineers major in engineering. Pharmacists major in pharmacy. There is no other way to be certified as a nurse, engineer, or pharmacist. However, most careers do not require a specific course. Use your career goals as a basis for academic decisions about the course you will pursue.
CAREER PLANNING PROCESS:
Know yourself.
The combination of your values, personality, interests, skills, and talents make you a unique person. Each person has a contribution to make in this world. Understanding what makes you unique will help you identify career options that are suitable for you.
Explore your career options.
Research the variety of careers that interest you any career guidance book or online sources. Research the needs of the labour market to get ideas about the skills needed for your career choice, entry level requirements, the education you will need to obtain and the growth prospects of different careers. You also need to understand industry trends.
Take action.
To realize your career dreams, you will need to TAKE ACTION. The knowledge you gain must be applied.
FACTORS AFFECTING YOUR CAREER PLANNING
- Interests.
Interests develop from your experiences and beliefs and can continue to develop and change throughout life.
- Skills.
Skills are measured by past performance and are almost always improvable with practice.
- Aptitudes.
These are inherent strengths, often part of your biological heritage or the result of early training. Aptitudes are the foundation for skills. We all have aptitudes we build on. Build on your strengths.
- Personality.
The personality you have developed over the years makes you and can’t be ignored when you make career decisions. The quiet, orderly, calm, detail-oriented person will probably make a different work choice than the aggressive, outgoing, argumentative person.
- Life Goals and Work Values.
Each of us defines success and satisfaction in our way. The process is complicated and very personal. Two factors influence our conclusions about success and happiness:
1) Knowing that we are achieving the life goals we have set for ourselves and
2) Finding that we value what we are receiving from our work.
Dr John Holland, a psychologist at John Hopkins University, separates people into six general categories based on the difference in their interests, skills, values, and personality characteristics-in short, their preferred approaches in life:
- Realistic
These people describe themselves as concrete, down-to-earth, and practical-as doers. They exhibit competitive/assertive behaviour and show interest in activities that require motor coordination, skill, and physical strength. They prefer situations involving “action solutions” rather than tasks involving verbal or interpersonal skills, and they like to take a concrete approach to problem-solving than rely on abstract theory. They tend to be interested in scientific or mechanical areas rather than cultural and aesthetic fields.
Career categories here include Agricultural engineer, barber, dairy farmer, electrical contractor, heavy equipment operator, industrial arts teacher, jeweller, navy officer, health and safety specialist, radio repairer, sheet metal worker, tailor, fitness director, package engineer, electronics technician, computer graphics technician, coach, PE teacher.
- Investigative.
These people describe themselves as analytical, rational, and logical-as problem solvers. They value intellectual stimulation and intellectual achievement and prefer to think rather than act, to organize and understand rather than persuade. They have a strong interest in physical, biological, or social sciences. They are less apt to become people-oriented.
Career categories include urban planner, chemical engineer, bacteriologist, cattle breeding technician, ecologist, flight engineer, genealogist, hand-writing analyst, laboratory technician, marine scientist, nuclear medical technologist, obstetrician, quality control technician, sanitation scientist, TV repairer, balloon pilot, computer programmer, robotics engineer, environmentalist, physician, a college professor.
- Social.
These people describe themselves as kind, caring, helpful, and understanding of others. They value helping and making a contribution. They satisfy their needs in one-to-one or small group interaction using strong verbal skills to teach, counsel or advise. They are drawn to close interpersonal relationships and are less apt to engage in intellectual or extensive physical activity.
Career categories include Nurse, teacher, cater, social worker, genetic counsellor, home economist, job analyst, marriage counsellor, parole officer, rehabilitation counsellor, school superintendent, theatre manager, production expediter, insurance claims specialist, minister, travel agent, guidance counsellor, convention planner, career specialist.
- Artistic.
These people describe themselves as creative, innovative and independent. They value self-expression and relations with others through artistic expressions and are also emotionally expressive. They dislike structure, preferring tasks involving personal or physical skills.
They resemble investigative people but are more interested in cultural-aesthetic than the scientific.
Career categories include Architect, film editor/director, actor, cartoonist, interior decorator, fashion model, graphic communications specialist, jewellery designer, journalist, medical illustrator, editor, orchestra leader, public relations specialist, sculptor, telecommunications coordinator, media specialist, librarian, and reporter.
- Enterprising.
These people describe themselves as assertive, risk-taking, and persuasive. They value prestige, power, and status and are more inclined than other types to pursue it. They use verbal skills to supervise, lead, direct, and persuade rather than support or guide. They are interested in people and in achieving organizational goals.
Career categories include Banker, city manager, employment interviewer, health administrator, industrial relations director, judge, labour arbitrator, insurance salesperson, sales engineer, lawyer, sales representative, marketing specialist, promoter,
- Conventional.
These people describe themselves as neat, orderly, detail-oriented, and persuasive. They value prestige, power, and status possess a high degree of elf-control. They are not opposed to rules and regulations. They are skilled in organizing, planning, and scheduling and are interested in data and people.
Career categories include Accountant, statistician, census enumerator, data processor, hospital administrator, instrument assembler, insurance administrator, legal secretary, library assistant, office manager, reservation agent, information agent, information consultant, underwriter, auditor, personnel specialist, database manager, and abstractor/indexer.
UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES SELECTION
For one to earn a place at a university or college for a specific course, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) looks at:
The mean grade that ensures you go to higher institutions of learning.
Cluster subjects that give you cluster points which direct you to the university or college of your choice (individual groups determine the cluster subjects and points)
1.Cut off points for different universities and courses:
Besides achieving the required mean grade for admission into university, it is also important for a candidate to be aware of the specific subjects required for the cluster points. The importance of good performance in all subjects cannot be over emphasized.
Different colleges and universities have different cut-off points irrespective of the similarity between the courses. It is important to choose your university and colleges wisely, with full knowledge of the cut-off points for each program.
Immediately after the annual KCSE results are announced, KUCCPS opens the online application process portal for two weeks. In that period, those students who wish to join a public university or TVET, need to apply by visiting https://students.kuccps.net/
All you need to apply to start the application process is your birth certificate not an identity card. Even if you had previously applied in school, you must again apply online to ensure processing of your application. Ensure you read and understand the application manual on the website to guide you on how to apply.
2.First Stage of Application:
When the KUCCPS online opens, you will be allowed to choose up to six courses in what they call the First Stage application. There are over 1000 university and diploma courses listed on the site to choose from. It is therefore very important to determine which courses lead to the careers you are interested in well in advance.
3.Accreditation:
As mentioned earlier, it is important that you check that the institution you wish to attend is accredited as this guarantees the quality of education they offer is of high standard. Fortunately, all the universities and colleges listed on the KUCCPS site are registered and accredited annually for the courses they offer by the ministry of education. For the degree courses, it is also important to ensure they are also accredited by the respective professional organization.
4.Cluster Points:
The board of KUCCPS usually meets on release of the KCSE results to determine the overall cut-off point that students need to qualify for university or college placement. Further, each university and TVET institution sets a certain number of cut-off points one has to achieve in the cluster of four (4) subjects that are considered the most relevant for the course.
5.To decide on the cut off points, these factors are considered:
Availability of spaces. Although thousands more students sit for the KCSE examination every year, the number of spaces available in universities and TVETs has not increased at the same rate. For the sake of fairness, KUCCPS then has to raise the overall cut-off points. For example, a few years ago, C+ was good enough to confirm a government-sponsored place in university. Now B grade is required for most courses. But this cut-off point may change if more spaces become available.
Demand for the course. Some courses are so popular that institutions are forced to raise the cut-off points in order to land the best students. To compound the problem, some popular courses have fewer spaces available so the cut-off points are raised even higher. For example, medicine is so competitive that even an ‘A’ does not guarantee a successful application. The institution is then forced to review and choose only those with higher ‘A’ grade points in their performance index.
Demand for a particular university or TVET college. Some universities and colleges are so popular that they raise the cut-off points for admission. They are harder to get into if your KCSE scores in the cluster points required for the course at that university are not as high as those of others trying to get into those popular institutions.
Affirmative action. The government is determined to ensure that at least one third of the students they sponsor in universities and TVET colleges are women. The cut-off points may be lowered for women to ensure this level is achieved. The government also lowers the cut-off points for admission for those living with disabilities and those from marginalized communities so that they get a fair chance to join universities and colleges despite greater hardships they face on their educational journey.
Even though the cluster points for entry qualification may be amended by an institution every year, you can research the basic guidelines online, including comparative cut off points for the past year, by vising the KUCCPS website, https://kuccps.net/
You can download the latest KUCCPS Student manual, Cut-Off Points, and Cluster Points by going to: https://students.kuccps.net/downloads/
As of 29/05/2021, the materials available for downloads are:
Craft Programme Codes
Artisan Programmes Codes
Diploma Programme Codes
Degree Cluster Document
Counties, Districts and Postal Codes
Principal’s_Manual
Student’s Manual
Degree Programmes Cutoffs
Diploma Requirements and Programmes
To get more guidelines , consider purchasing the book, Smart Way To Improve Your Mind & Grades
