Empowering Youth For Sustainable Development Through Vocational Guidance
Vocational guidance is intended to aid young people in choosing an occupation, preparing them for it, finding an opening in it, and building up a career of efficiency and success. It is apparent in Nigeria that young people are ill-prepared for entry into the world of work. They are inadequately oriented in educational institutions to the extent that they do not understand their own abilities, interest, and values. As a result of the failure of the educational system in helping the youths realise their potentialities, they prefer choosing high-level jobs or prestigious careers. The youths, being the future hope of a nation's development, require information that will make them take initiative and take decisions to solve problems and improve service and performance. This paper, therefore, examines the concepts of vocational guidance as well as empowerment against the backdrop of its significance for sustainable development. An attempt was also made to highlight the roles of a guidance counselor, that of parents and teachers in youth empowerment for national development. The government at all levels should focus on job creation and invest in the development of youths for them to exhibit their talents maximally for effective participation in democratic governance for sustainable development.