A sample survey of the career maturity of disadvantaged learners in the Western Cape

• Main Author: Miller, Annette
• Other Authors: Theron, C. C.
• Language: en
• Published: Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch 2008
• Subjects: Theses > Industrial psychology; High school students > Vocational guidance > South Africa > Western Cape; Children with social disabilities > Vocational guidance > South Africa > Western Cape; Career development > South Africa > Western Cape; Career education > South Africa > Western Cape; Vocational interests > South Africa > Western Cape; Vocational maturity > South Africa > Western Cape; Dissertations > Industrial psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1504

Thesis (MA(Industrial Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. === Organisations have come to exist for a definite purpose, which is to combine and transform scarce factors of production into products and services with maximum economic utility. They strive to attain the highest possible output of need satisfying products and/or services with the lowest possible input of production factors. In order to achieve the level of growth and development required to enable it to compete in a climate of fierce international competition from other developed countries, post – apartheid South Africa needs a focused, motivated and skilled workforce. Yet, the current reality is often that of South African companies’ being handicapped by an under-skilled and, frequently, under-performing workforce. In addition, tertiary institutions experience low pass rates and high attrition rates among previously disadvantaged students, despite efforts to provide extra academic support and enrichment programmes. In this study, it is believed that one aspect of the difficult that many disadvantaged students have to achieve either in tertiary study or in the workplace, can be attributed to the lack of career maturity of such learners to make optimal career choices. The main objective of this study was to perform an audit of levels of career maturity of a sample of disadvantaged learners from the Western Cape. Another goal of the research was to attempt to investigate some envisaged determinants of career maturity in an effort to isolate those that presented as having the strongest influence on career maturity levels. A model was developed to illustrate these determinants and their envisaged effect which was tested among previously disadvantaged learners in the Western Cape.