COMPLEMENTING FORMAL EDUCATION WITH VOCATIONAL TRAINING
Ø "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; ..."
Ø "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either
this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good."
(Ecclesiastics
9:10; 11:6).
In the
light of this Scripture, a wise youth will ensure that he does not put all his
eggs in one basket. One thing is said to complement another when it combines
suitably well with each other. Cases of this abound naturally both around and
within us. Many of our body organs, for example, are in pairs. Today, the
global economy is passing through serious recession with no immediate
improvement in view. If two sources of income are better than one in a booming
economy, they are definitely more so in a dwindling one. Therefore, combining
your formal education with a suitable vocational training is a wise decision.
The school system and the society not only make it possible to combine
vocational trainings with formal education but encourage it as well. The
flexibilities and incentives that attest to this include:
(i) Schooling is constantly punctuated
with terminal breaks, weekend
breaks, long vacations, public holidays, and so on.
(ii) Transitional periods from Junior
Secondary School to Senior Secondary School
and Senior Secondary School to higher institution
are also there,
(iii) Some vocational programmes can be completed within moderately short
time like just one long vacation,
(iv) Many workshop operators willingly admit some apprentices on
part-time basis,
(v) The youthful age presents a great advantage. "It is good for a
man that he bears the yoke in his youth." (Lamentation 3:27). The brain is
fresh and able to grasp divergent interests. Furthermore, life is still
relatively free from life hassles,
(vi) Sometimes, there are incentives from governments and
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in form of partially or fully-financed
skill acquisition centres,
(vii) Many youths have parents or close relations that are into various
suitable vocations from whom they can learn conveniently and free of charge.
While it is highly desirable to combine one or more vocations
with formal education, the combination should not be done haphazardly. The
factors to be considered include:
i. The
practicability of the trade in view of Christian convictions.
Certain vocations are more prone to temptations than others, and it is good to
consider this from the onset. If you know any mature Christian in a vocation of
your choice, approach them for counselling first.
ii. Your
natural flair for and disposition towards the trade. This is usually a good
indicator of any hidden talents in a person, and the best trade for you is the
one that is in line with your natural talents.
iii. Your
dream career. Choosing a vocation that is related to your dream career makes your workshop training to
also serve as a solid practical background for your further studies.
iv. The
merits and prospects of the trade. Imagine that you have to live solely on the
vocation in the future; then ask yourself whether it is viable enough to
sustain you. Observe how well off or otherwise the people already in the
vocation are.
v. Availability
of operational equipment. Certain vocations (e.g. printing) require the
installation of expensive machinery. Before choosing such a vocation, two
issues are crucial. Firstly, verify that the necessary machinery is installed
in a workshop before you enroll because
they cannot teach you what they do
not have. Secondly, ask yourself whether you can afford such expensive
machinery in the future. "In all labour there is profit..."
(Proverbs 14:23)- Complementing your
formal education with vocational training is full of
immediate and long-term benefits, namely:
(i) Your
workshop activities serve as contrast and variety to your school work while the
learning lasts,
(ii) Workshop
learning serves as practical
experience of your academic
studies, especially if both are related,
(iii)
The acquired skill can make you marketable presently, and thus provide financial backbone for your
schooling,
(iv) It relieves
your parents or guardians as you cease to depend solely on their financial support
though still under them,
(v) You
can become versatile and in high demand even by your school teachers and in the
church,
(vi) It
serves as opportunity to discover and utilize your hidden talents,
(vii) It
removes the frustration resulting from idleness, unemployment and poverty,
(viii)
It makes you an employer of labour instead of a job seeker in the nearest
future,
(ix) It
complements your income from any future employment,
(x) It
ensures job security by affording a ready alternative in case of retrenchment.
It is
however important that you do not allow the lure of money to lead you to
abandoning or failing to give concentrated attention to your academics.
Remember that you are only complementing and not replacing your academics.
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