Parents should not force careers on their children – Maria Johana Yuorpor

Maria Johana Yuorpor, an Industrial and Organizational Psychologist, has said that parents should not force career choices on their children at the expense of the children's inherent abilities and passion points.

She said parents should however offer guidance to the children on their chosen career paths to help them succeed.

"All we have to do is, guide and perhaps advise, and with our experience, expose them to the various careers that are available and then they can choose.

"And once children have chosen their own career, they would pursue it and pursue it better than parents choosing careers for them to pursue," Madam Johana said.

Madam Johana, who was also the CEO of Mara Foods and Regional Coordinator of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), said this at the sidelines of a career guidance and counselling session organized by Corporate Club Ghana (CCG) at Northern Star Senior High School in Wa.

She noted that career guidance in education is very important for every child who is climbing the educational ladder to help them to make informed choices.

"Career guidance is key in education. Pupils need to be guided, especially JHS and SHS, they need guidance in choosing their careers.

"In recent times, things are getting better. Children at the age of four, five, they know what career professionals to become," she said.

She explained that parents and teachers, therefore, have important responsibilities in guiding children to achieve their desired career goals after they have identified what they are passionate about and would like to become.

Madam Yuorpor however indicated that children could easily succeed in their chosen career paths when they possess certain abilities and skills relevant to the chosen career.

"The other thing is that in the career you've chosen, you need to have some abilities and skills. These, I always say you can learn, but then once they are things that you easily have them naturally, it is easier to advance in the career.

"So the guidance is important. Teachers can identify, parents can identify, and guide. Yes, children can decide to choose and parents and teachers can guide," she explained.

Earlier, Maria Johana Yuorpor has been admonishing young people in the country to be entrepreneurial by identifying problems within their localities and creatively solving them while making earnings.

She said, to be an entrepreneur has to do with the individual identifying what they like and are passionate about, and then innovatively developing ideas around what could be done to help society while making profit out of it.

She made these comments at a Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit while she addressed hundreds of students of the SDD University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD UBIDS) in Wa.

Maria Johana Yuorpor, through her experience in business growth, expertise in organizational development, and business and life coaching abilities, has mentored many youths within the Upper West Region and beyond.

She has been guest speaker and panelist in several youth fora and symposia where she mentors and inspires young people to build their own businesses and be successful in life.