Do you think school leavers should get some working experience before going for further studies?

It would certainly a good thing if school leavers get some working experience before going for further studies. One reason is that they get a taste of what work is and thus are in a better position to know what they want to study further.

As it is, the smarter students get channeled directly into universities and colleges the moment they finish school. Most, if not all, of them do not know what the real working world is like. When they finish their studies they are plunged into the competitive work market often without a hint of what it is like. So they have to learn very quickly how to cope with the sudden change. The luckier ones get jobs they like. Many get stuck in jobs they have no inclination for and only keep at the jobs because they do not know what else they can do.

This causes job dissatisfaction. The results are unhappy workers in unhappy companies.

However, if school leavers were to get a taste of working life first, they will soon have a pretty good idea of what it is. They will have probably discovered too what sort of jobs they prefer to do. With this precious knowledge, they will then know what courses to take up to ensure they secure the right jobs on graduation.

Most of my teachers are those who went straight to university or college on finishing school. They have virtually no experience of life outside school. So when they return to school to teach, they are ill-equipped to teach the children what it is like outside the school. Some teachers who had had to work outside before becoming a teacher have far better knowledge of the outside world. The difference is obvious. I am in no way saying that the former are inferior teachers. It is just that they would be better ones if they have had outside experience.

As for myself, the moment I leave school, I am going to get myself a job. It does not matter what job it is or for how long I will have it. I only want the experience of working. Only by involving myself fully in the working world will I know what it is like and how to cope with it. Even if it is for a few months, by that time, I will have a fairly good idea ò working life. Thus I will be in a good position to decide what I will like to do in the future. I will not be a confused jobseeker nor an unhappy employee.