REF: EB/NL/25/21-22 DATE: 14th February 2022
Going Beyond Conventional Career Paths
Over the years, the Education Board of Africa Federation has become increasingly aware of the number of students pursuing conventional courses and career paths due to various reasons.
Not too long ago, choosing a traditional career was the only option for a safe and promising future. Now, there are many offbeat options that provide benefits of a road less travelled.
With changes in the global trends and needs of our community, the Education Board deemed it crucial to promote and incentivize students to pursue careers which are more in line with;
- High demand and/or in integration with the changing global landscape.
- Career paths that will uplift the skill set of our community
- Career paths that are in low supply within our communities based on incoming applications.
With this in mind, Education Board of Africa Federation recently introduced Incentivized Career Loan Program.
5 career paths at Undergraduate level was short-listed under these incentivized career courses by the Board. (These courses will be updated annually)
1. Information Technology – (Cybersecurity /Artificial Intelligence/Data Science)
While technology evolves rapidly, the professionals in this area have many upcoming options in in the current employment market. Whether you want to become a Cybersecurity expert or Artificial Intelligence (AI) developer, there is strong demand for highly skilled IT specialists. The use of digital tools has also increased because of social distancing protocols brought about by the pandemic.
https://www.networkerstechnology.com/4-tech-jobs-in-10-years-time has insights on the IT careers in 10 years’ time.
2. Science – (Agriculture /Bioinformatics and Genetics)
Agriculture is an industry that is constantly evolving and consistently in desperate need of new talent. Agriculture careers provide job security, competitive pay rates and the chance to really have an impact on our community.
The role of data in bioinformatics is to provide repositories of data, better computing facilities, and data manipulation tools for data analysis. Bioinformatics is itself a great area of research at present. Hence, the life sciences & biotech domain is witnessing an explosion of bioinformatics careers, largely fueled by the big data boom. The demand for talented, skilled & experienced professionals at the crossroads of biology, statistics, and computer science is very high.
3. Health – (Nursing /Audiology)
The nursing industry is changing rapidly. With shifting technology, an aging patient population and new challenges brought on by pandemic, the nursing industry is being forced to evolve to ensure that hospitals and other organizations are able to continue to provide the best possible care. A career in nursing provides job security, quality benefits, and a competitive salary. This is particularly true in our community setting where generations live together and sometimes find themselves in challenging situations of caregiving.
Audiology positions are on the rise. The demand for audiologists will continue to increase as the population and life expectancy grow, and the survival rates of infants, trauma victims, and stroke victims improve.
Read more on https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/fastest-growing-healthcare-jobs
4. Management – (Human Resource/Media/Journalism)
As new companies form and organizations expand, the need for human resource professionals to foster connections between leadership and employees will increase. There will also be an increasing need for specialists in training and development, employee benefits, recruitment, and policy advisement. The Wall Street Journal has ranked Human Resource Management (HRM) the 35th most promising career of the decade out of 800.
Read about Media careers https://www.thebalancecareers.com/media-job-titles-2061502
5. Education – (Teachers/Educational Administration)
There will always be a need for great teachers. Regardless of temporary economic conditions, hiring practices, budget cuts or any other factors that impact the education system, the need for teachers is timeless and universal. Society will always need educators, and in that respect, teaching is one career in which you can be confident you will always have a purpose. (An article on teaching careers will follow soon)
For further inquiries regarding Incentivized Career Loan Program, please contact your local jamaat.
If you are pursuing or working in any of the Career fields mentioned above, we invite you to write your experience for our Education Board’s newsletter that will help our community students learn more about these career paths. Please communicate with us on education@africafederation.org
Secretariat
Africa Federation Education Board