By

Thenjiwe P. Thabede

Department of Information Studies

University of Zululand

Email: thenjiwethabede@gmail.com

Investigating the availability and impact of

career advice services to 2nd year students at

the University of Zululand in the Faculty of

Arts

Outline

Background and problem Career counselling services offered in higher education institutions in

several countries tend to be least strongly professionalised (Watts in

Orellana, 2014).

This is observed at Unizulu: there is a noted lack of formal career services

a situation which manifests during the registration period.

Election of modules (when career advice is needed)starts at 2nd year level.

In this regard 2nd years experience difficulties:

The tendency is to elect adhocly (during the registration) in the queue

Rely on opinion of friends, seniors

Period allocated for career advice is short.

Quality of advice is low.

Aim of the study To assess the availability and impact of career advice services to 2nd year

students in the Faculty of Arts.

Objectives of the study To determine the availability of career advice services.

To ascertain the usefulness of career advice service provided.

To determine the challenges in the provision of or lack of career advice

services

To investigate the correlation between lack of career advice services and

modification

To determine students satisfaction with the advice they obtain

Literature review Career advice is closely related to career

counselling/guidance…….(Carter, 2014).

Career advice services are predominantly focused on developed

countries and are only accessible to the elite (Hiebert, Schober &

Oaks, 2014.

In higher education institutions not much attention is given to

students’ re-enrolment and their career goals (Hull-Banks et al as

cited in Shear, 2009)

This is despite career advice being very critical in a university.

Need for career guidance rises as tertiary education operates in a

more open and competitive environment (OECD, 2003).

Methodology A mixed method research design was used.

The research method followed was the survey method.

A questionnaire was used for collecting data.

Data was interpreted into themes and also converted to figures.

A sample of 64 questionnaires of 1281 students were distributed a

ratio of (20%). 43 were received back giving a 67% return rate.

Research findings

AIM: To assess the availability and impact of career advice

services to 2nd year students in the Faculty of Arts.

Key findings

Apparent lack of career services including a dedicated department/

unit, lack of qualified/ trained people and inadequate facilities

supporting career advice provision resulting in:

Dropouts

Modification

Changes to career goals

31(72%) reported that they experience difficulties when electing

majors and only 12(28%) reported to be experiencing no problem.

21(49%) experience a stronger need for career advice when

choosing/electing majors for second year

Need for career advice

Career advice provision by Unizulu

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Yes No

6(14%)

37(86%)

Are career advice services provided by

Unizulu?

Student’s satisfaction with advice

received during registration

24(56%)

19(44%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Yes No

Are you satisfied with the advice you

receive from advisors?

Adequacy of facilities supporting

provision career information

5(12%)

38(88%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Yes No

Are there adequate facilities supporting the provision of career

advice?

Effects of poor career advice on

students

29(67%)

12(28%)

22(51%) 24(56%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Modification Drop out Lack of interest/

dissatisfaction

Failure

Ways in which lack of or poor career advice

affects students

Provision of information about the

electives

16(37%)

27(63%)

Were you provided with sufficient information about the

electives to decide on the ones you want to choose?

Yes No

Study challenges

Students withholding their views due to possible perceived

judgements for their qualification choice/s.

Although time constraints were anticipated due to knowledge of

the allocated time to do the research. Getting the research done

in the time provided (a semester for introduction to theory and

the research project) was both exhausting and challenging.

Accessing study populations (students) was difficult and many

were often disinterested (do not value research)

Conclusion The study wanted to achieve the following objective:

To determine the availability of career advice services-

To ascertain the usefulness of career advice service provided.

To determine the challenges in the provision of or lack of career

advice services

To determine students satisfaction with the advice they obtain

Conclusion

The conclusion arrived at is that:

Students need career advice, especially at entry level tending to rely

much on the advice of people who have done the course before due

to lack of stable career advice services

Noted problems of the lack of career advice services include:

Modification dropouts, failure among others

The findings would have given a truer and balanced reflection of

perceptions on the career guidance provision, had the researcher

reached a larger number of students and also consulted with

stakeholders in the institution who provide or should provide career

services.

Recommendations There must be clear department/s responsible for implementing career

advice services, must be accessible including walk in centres during

registration.

The faculty and departments should offer clear academic structures that

are easy for students to follow with clearly articulated outcomes

Awareness of what exists and it must be improved e.g. putting

information on the university website, career handbooks, workshops, etc. .

Timing- Career advice should be made prior to registration

Staffing- friendly qualified staff with extensive knowledge are

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