An exploration of growth strategies for a career guidance organisation in South Africa

Effective career guidance remains inaccessible to the youth in South Africa due to the inequalities inherent in the apartheid educational systems. Career guidance significantly influences the course of a young person’s life. In today’s dynamic work environment, it’s important that youth gain essential knowledge about future careers. This research sought to investigate the access to career guidance challenges faced by the youth in South Africa, challenges faced by career guidance organisations in offering effective career guidance and to explore digital strategies for increasing the career guidance organisation’s reach among South African youth in the digital era. Eleven participants, including eight youths and three management members, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to gain contrasting perspectives on career guidance. The findings indicated that career counselling is ineffective in South Africa for a variety of reasons, including a lack of individualized career counselling as a result of standard career expos hosted by schools and insufficient information received, particularly by young people living in rural areas. The results underscored the necessity of utilizing technology to modernize and expand career guidance delivery outside of the Gauteng Province. The study recommends integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and digital marketing into the organisation’s strategy for increasing awareness and offering career guidance to a larger youth population.