Posted on January 13, 2025
While many learners are celebrating the outcome of the 2024 Grade 12 results, many face uncertainty and
disappointment. Now is the time to make strategic decisions about where they’re headed on their career journey. These decisions will significantly influence their future career and life, and should be taken into consideration by many stakeholders – starting with their parents or guardians.
This guide seeks to assist learners who did not pass or secure university admission and who find themselves at a career crossroads.
Supporting learners who did not make the grade
Parents, guardians and teachers can begin by rethinking well-worn words and phrases. The term ‘fail’ has no place in the vocabulary of today’s postmodern society. Why use that word or the phrase ‘insufficient achievement’ at a time when those who have purportedly ‘failed’ are at their most vulnerable; when their sense of self-efficacy is at its lowest; and when there is the threat of destructive behaviour (suicide)? While learners’ marks may affect their chances of acceptance into their preferred field of study, they do not determine their overall success in life or limit their longer-term career prospects.
If necessary, consult a psychologist or registered counsellor. Contact the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, Lifeline or a suicide hotline. Understandably, parents feel disappointed when their children aren’t as successful as they would like them to be. Reproach, however, serves no purpose. Communicate with them – ask how they’re feeling and listen carefully to their responses. Reassure your child that inadequate achievement does not diminish how you feel about them or define them. If they act out, remember that such behaviour is to be expected under the circumstances.
Alternative career trajectories
While going to university is one of many trajectories to career-life success, parents or guardians should not be set on a particular tertiary institution or post-Grade 12 education and training level. While research shows that those with degrees find employment more easily and earn higher salaries, do not underestimate the value of non-university study. Judge each discipline and tertiary training institution on merit. For instance, a diploma in information security analysis, or a technical qualification in solar photovoltaic installation or data engineering may suit some learners and enrich them on a personal level. It may also help them to actualise their specific key life themes, such as helping people out of poverty and overcoming structural challenges.
Many specialised certificates and diplomas open doors to exciting career opportunities that help learners enhance their employability. Find out more about research career opportunities by speaking with field employees, employers and graduates.
Technical and vocational education and training colleges provide practical, career-focused courses in information technology, engineering and business, among others; apprenticeships combine on-the-job training with theoretical learning and can lead to sought-after qualifications in skilled trades or specialised industries; the National Student Financial Aid Scheme offers funding opportunities for eligible learners; online platforms present affordable courses in many fields (like coding and online marketing); youth employment programmes connect learners with training and work opportunities; community organisations present skills training, workshops and mentorship for school-leavers; and small-business opportunities could enhance self-employment as could turning hobbies or special skills into income-generating activities.
Options for learners who are set on university admission
If you’re a learner who needs to secure admission to your preferred tertiary education and training institution, you could request a re-evaluation of your exam papers. You could also apply to write supplementary exams, repeat grades (or specific subjects), or enrol in correspondence courses at a different institution or at a different training level. That said, consulting a career psychologist (such as an educational, counselling or industrial psychologist) is vital. If you decide to reapply in 2025, you could consider taking a gap year in 2025. However, it’s essential to consult with a career psychologist first and speak with those who have taken gap years to learn about their experiences.
Another option is to take on part-time work or a constructive activity. Once again, speak to learners who have successfully managed similar situations. Learners, remember this: You understand yourself and your preferences better than anyone else. Listen to and execute your advice. Whereas others can provide general information and psycho-educational and psycho-social-advice, only you can advise yourself. Others can offer valuable insights, but they can never advise you on the most appropriate career.
Coping with an inadequate Grade 12 performance
To those who have yet to attain the stipulated marks for admission to their preferred institutions and fields of study, take heart: there is reason to remain upbeat about the future. Try to look at setbacks or perceived ‘failures’ as building blocks for the future, opportunities for growth and exhibiting resilience in uncertain times. The psychologist Carl Jung said: “Be grateful for your difficulties and challenges, for they hold blessings. [We] need difficulties; they are necessary for personal growth [and self-fulfilment].”
Also reflect upon the fact that you have yet to achieve your goals in the Grade 12 exams – which is just one of many career-life transitions – and remind yourself that countless others have experienced challenges in these exams, yet became successful later in life. It’s also important to refrain from blaming yourself or others. If destructive thoughts (including thoughts of suicide) surface, speak to your parents or guardian and seek the help of a qualified professional.
Professor Kobus Maree, a researcher in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria.
The importance of finding meaning and purpose
Learners, it’s important to nurture an authentic sense of meaning, hope and purpose by consulting a career psychologist to help you clearly understand why you want to study and what your life’s purpose is. This specialist can help you to discover and execute what is important to you beyond career goals. The next step is to try to articulate your career-life mission and vision by addressing existential questions such as why do I live; why do I want to work; and where am I headed?
The following account serves as an example of a key life theme and its role in helping someone to have a
meaningful and purpose-filled career.
“I want to become a nuclear scientist who specialises in renewable energy; I want to work on nuclear fusion to produce much more energy than burning oil and coal does [career choice]. In this way, I can meet my need to be creative [personal meaning], use my analytical and mathematical skills, and work in a structured, high-level environment, all to help us be less dependent on fossil fuels; make the world a healthier place; end the abuse of natural resources; prevent the sixth mass extinction; create work for others; and change the lives of people who, like myself, grew up in an impoverished township where air pollution was a major problem [social meaning].”
The common thread that weaves itself through people’s career-life stories is the idea of transforming their personal sadness or suffering into accomplishments and social contributions. By helping others to overcome comparable challenges, they’re able to confront the pain they have experienced. Finding pride and joy involves honouring the legacy of their loved ones in the best way possible – and each time they help others heal, they heal themselves, too.
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