“Vocational guidance is a facilitative process, a service rendered to the individual to aid him in choosing and adjusting to an occupation.”

(John D. Crites)

From the time a child is grown enough to talk, he is asked as to what he thinks he would want to be when he grows up. Parents try and guide their children to develop some ambition for themselves. They plan the educational pursuits of the children to ensure a successful career for them. Sometimes people need additional guidance in this regard. This is where Career and Vocational Counselling comes into place.

Vocation is defined as an intense feeling that takes route in an individual, motivating him to pursue a particular line of work. Career on the other hand, refers to the progress that is made by an individual during his/her life in employment, particularly in a specific profession.

Vocational Guidance and Counselling are directed towards both the youth and the adults. It is a means by which individuals are provided with information and advice about the kind of career they should and could choose. It guides them by providing information on the prerequisites for different career paths, current popular and well paying career trends in the world and how appropriate jobs can be searched for and gained.

Limited information on the types of employment opportunities that are available to individuals leads to impractical decisions that might have a detrimental impact on their future lives. Other people are unsure of the skills that they are in possession of and thus fail to find the most suitable career and job for them. Career and Vocational Guidance can help these people in selecting careers that are self satisfying and practical.

Vocational and Career Guidance Counselors are people who help in this regard by working with interested individuals. By determining their goals and aspirations, different opportunities are identified for the individuals.

The Career and Vocational Guidance begins by gathering information on the skills and achievements of the interested individual from both him and his parents. He is tested and interviewed to determine his aptitude, personality type and other interests. On the basis of the obtained information, the individual is helped to choose the subjects that will help him pursue his career aims at the school and university level and later provides guidance on the most appropriate job for him.

Vocational and Career counsellors, who often times are Psychologists, help in this regard, enabling the individual to be content with the job he/she chooses, thus increasing his/her work efficiency and instilling a positive outlook towards life.