VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

Evening Star, Issue 25471, 30 April 1945, Page 7

VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

SPEGIAL TALKS FOR JUVENILES Talks by specialists in their own occupations are now being given wecKly in tlie Vocational Guidance Centre lor the purpose, of bringing information concerning careers directly from practitioners to young people interested. Invitations to'attend tueso talks are extended to pupils of all Dunedin secondary schools, and the experience of previous years has been that this is one of the happiest activities undertaken by the vocational officers.

A wide range of subjects is presented in the talks, embracing professional, technical, and artisan occupations. A noticeable development in juvenile oe- j cupation placement in Dunedin within recent years has been the emphasis on the technician in industry, a factor { which has been reflected by' the vocational officers' experience of an unsatisfied demand for matriculated boys to train as technicians and professional men in industry, with the result that speakers from this branch have been assigned an increasingly important role since the talks were instituted. While some addresses interest boys and girls alike, other speakers deal with subjects normally confined to one sex. The average talk attendance is about 60, but a discussion on the profession of nursing would attract almost 100 girls, while small specialist groups might be confined to a dozen juveniles, in which case the meeting would resolve into a round-table discussion on the attractions of the particular vocation. Occasionally it is found that a few boys or girls are attracted to an occupation generally followed by members, of the opposite sex. Such was the boy who was interested in frockmaking, using the knowledge acquired in that trade to become a designer, an ambition.he has now realised. A few juveniles attend all the talks, influenced either by a general thirst for knowledge or just " job shopping." The vocational officers do not possess a complete knowledge of all the prospects offered or the conditions of employment in various occupations, and this series of talks is an attempt to introduce young people to men and women prominent in their particular callings, who can, by question and answer, assist in the choice of a career that will offer satisfaction and opportunity. The talks are given each Monday at 4.30 p.m. and parents or pupils interested in a particular vocation .ire invited to nominate it for special discussion.