A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A ‘CORPORATE EDUCATOR’

SMED 11

Metrorail, together with more than 15 corporates, were recently invited to participate in a Career Expo at Hector Petersen High School, Kraaifontein. 

During the 10 past years, I have participated in numerous exhibtions and expos.  This one however was different in the sense that  it took on the form of corporate mentors taking on the role of ‘stand-in educator’ for the day.  My timetable for the day looked as follows : 

Subject   :       Marketing and Public Relations

Grades   :       11 and 12

Periods   :      7 periods of twenty minutes each

                        1 administration period of  twenty minutes

After exiting the teaching profession more than ten years ago it felt good to be back on familiar territory – Chalk, blackboard, pointer, staffroom and not forgetting noisy learners. 

It was a privilege and honour to share with learners – our future graduates and job entries  -  one day’s  corporate knowledge and experience.  Hopefully the twenty minutes I spent with each class was sufficient for some learners to consider further studies in either Marketing or Public Relations.  Most importantlyly , encourage them to continue with studies after completing Grade 12.

Denzil Witbooi, acting principal said the Expo was a means to “expose learners to different careers within a community where they are not encouraged to think about their futures” (Blits  News on track : 31 March – 7 April 2011).

Interestingly, initial indications are that a number of learners would like to become train drivers.  I was also pleasantly surprised by the significant number of learners who traveled to school by train (and proudly showcased their train tickets!)

In conclusion, I’d like to thank the Career Expo organisors, Principal and staff for creating a platform whereby representatives from various corporates could  share with learners their respective fields of study and work experiences. 

This model of ‘ twenty minutes corporate career teaching,’ is certainly something that other high schools can duplicate - thereby ensuring  learners are empowered make informed decisions with regard to future studies and career paths.