In our teenage years, we were clueless as to what we would do after graduating from public high schools. Some two to three decades later, we saw the same sense of disconnect with the future in students at workshops we held in northeast Thailand in June. In a project supported by Anderson Foundation, over half of the nearly 600 girls we polled, prior to our training, said they didn’t know what they wanted to do or even if they did, had no clue how to realize their aspirations post high school. It’s a knowledge gap in many public schools’ curricula; fortunately, we’re in a position to fill this void.
Through a series of three-hour ‘Better Me’ For Girls: Preparing for Success workshops at six schools in Ubon Ratchathani and Amnat Charoen provinces, we empowered students with tools to manage their future. They learnt how to map their attributes against their desired career paths to gauge job compatibility and gained an understanding on the positives and negatives of each career path. We also provided guidance on higher education options including sources of financing, vocational training opportunities, and safe job search.
The response to the training was highly positive going by the heartfelt notes we received from the girls. Teachers likewise were appreciative telling us we should return to train future cohorts. We want to as well, and there’s a lot of ground to cover which we hope will be supported by funding.
