Careers and Career Choices
Term 1: Weeks 4–6
1. Knowing Yourself
- Interests: What you enjoy doing
- Abilities: What you are good at
- Talents: Natural strengths or gifts
- Strengths: Skills you have mastered
- Weaknesses: Things you struggle with
2. Understanding Careers
- Job: Work you do for money (may not need qualifications)
- Occupation: Work requiring training or education
- Career: A long-term job you grow in
- Career field: Group of careers with similar skills
3. Personality Types and Careers
- Realistic: Enjoy hands-on work (e.g. mechanic, farmer)
- Investigative: Like problem-solving (e.g. scientist, engineer)
- Artistic: Creative and expressive (e.g. musician, designer)
- Social: Like helping people (e.g. nurse, teacher)
- Enterprising: Good at leading (e.g. lawyer, manager)
- Conventional: Organised and rule-following (e.g. clerk, accountant)
4. Subject Choices and NSC Requirements
- Grade 12 NSC = 7 subjects (2 languages, Maths/Maths Lit, Life Orientation, 3 electives)
- Must pass:
- 3 subjects with 40%+ (one must be Home Language)
- 3 subjects with 30%+
- NSC pass levels: Higher Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor Degree
5. Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Career Choices
- Finances: Can you afford tuition? Look for bursaries or loans
- Accessibility: Are institutions nearby or online?
- Community Needs: What skills are needed locally?
- Stereotypes: Don’t limit yourself by thinking jobs are “only for men”
- Income tax: Taxes reduce your take-home pay
Term 3–4: Weeks 6–10
6. Job Diversity and Economic Sectors
- Primary: Raw materials (e.g. farming, mining)
- Secondary: Manufacturing (e.g. technician, builder)
- Tertiary: Services (e.g. doctor, teacher)
- Quaternary: Info and research (e.g. IT, data analyst)
7. Work Environments and Conditions
- Outdoors: e.g. game ranger, farmer
- Indoors: e.g. teacher, banker
- Work conditions: calm, noisy, dangerous, etc.
8. Job Activities and Skills
- Designing: Architect, fashion designer
- Assembling: Mechanic, builder
- Growing: Farmer, animal breeder
- Caring: Nurse, social worker
- Controlling: Pilot, traffic officer
9. Skills and Competencies
- Skills: What you can do with training
- Competency: Doing a job well
- These affect your salary, promotions, and further study opportunities
10. Job Market and Lifelong Learning
- Job market: Where employers and job seekers meet
- Trends: Growing or shrinking careers
- Niche: Specialised job needing unique skills
- Lifelong learning: Keep learning new skills to stay employable
- Types: Formal (school), Informal (daily life), Non-formal (workshops)