Discover yourself at ECG @ Central

 The big question that every student will have to answer is not found in exam papers, and has no right or wrong answer. The answer is often attained through  trial and error. In NYP, however, ECG (Education and Career Guidance) @ Central looks to help ease the process of determining career choices for students. It is, however, not a place where the answers are given on a silver platter. ECG @ Central helps students discover themselves, before they go on to tackle the world.

Ms Georgina Ong, who is a counsellor at ECG @ Central, counsels students who have those big questions, �The three main questions usually asked are: �Who am I?�, �Where do I go?�, and �How do I get there?��

These are definitely questions many students going into working life might face, and the step up into adulthood can be an easy transition for some, but a pretty daunting experience for others. Many have spent more time than they should trying to discover themselves, while others only discover it during a mid-life crisis. But, that is not the only problem that students face.

�Employers now tend to hire on a 1-year or 2-year contract, very rarely offering something permanent. Our students today can be looking at changing jobs every 1 or 2 years if their contract is not renewed,� Ms Ong explained.

�It is therefore important that they make that self-discovery, so that they can find a career that suits them.�

ECG @ Central uses the RAISEC code (a popular job assessment tool), founded by John Holland, to help each student discover his or her own traits and values. Students use the �VIPS� template, which stands for values, interest, personality, and skills. It takes a maximum of one hour to complete, and consists of choosing different human values and occupations through decks of cards. The counsellors will be talking with students through the process, and would ask the students to think of the choices they make, including the fact that an ideal self may not accurately reflect one�s own characteristics.

�Values that are chosen may only fit the current context of a student�s situation, and those values would always change after a period of time,� said Ms Ong. �I believe progress stops only when you die.�

Ms Ong is also a firm believer of neuroplasticity, the idea that a brain would continue to grow with new found knowledge. ECG @ Central looks to further protect the interests of students, by pointing them to the right path, so that they can embark on a journey of life-long learning.

Indeed, student-transition into the work-life will no longer be such an unnerving experience, not with the help of the counsellors at ECG @ Central.

By Nasruddin Islam Bin Ramli, Diploma in Electronics, Computer & Communications Engineering

A Diploma in Electronics, Computer and Communications Engineering student, Nas hopes to be able to achieve his dream and make little changes that would benefit the world. But he also understands that life has its curve-balls, so he would just be happy being able to improve himself as a person and a human-being by learning something new every day, regardless of it being inside or outside the classroom.