Over 900 Indian parents and students attended a career guidance seminar under the title “Help your child to make informed decisions” organized by the Indian Youth Welfare Association (IYWA) here Friday. The event aimed to assist students of Grade 11 and 12 in choosing a career that is compatible with their personalities and has good scope and future prospects. “This seminar attempts to help students improve their skills in making the right decision regarding their future jobs,” Shakeel Ahmed, Indian Education Consul, said addressing the audience. The education consul said that many Indian universities are now offering higher education programs to students in the Kingdom through their centers in Jeddah and Riyadh. The seminar provided informative expert presentations on different career fields, namely, engineering, commerce, medicine, mass communication, civil services and e-learning (electronic-learning). Noufal Palakkoth, chief examiner in the International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ), in his presentation titled “Visualize the future” spoke on the “right kind of attitude as well as aptitude that students should have when they decide on a career”. “If students do not possess the special skills required for a particular job they shouldn't go for it. They must choose an occupation that is in accordance with their personalities and habits,” said Palakkoth. Speaking on career options in the field of Information Technology (IT) and computers, Sara Ali, a computer science professor at King Abdulaziz University, said: “Computer science and IT hold the power to change the world. They have become an indispensable factor in academics. Therefore, there is a whole array of vacancies in this field.” Ahmed Hashmi, a Grade 12 student, said he was “lucky to attend the event, as it made him realize the importance of the old saying ‘Do what you love and love what you do'”. Representatives from some Indian and Malaysian universities participated in an expo held on the sidelines of the seminar. “An awareness program has been prepared for students prior to their enrollment in a Malaysian university so that they have an easy study period there,” Dr. Muhammad Qadri, chief executive of Qadri International Education Consultants, told Saudi Gazette.
