Vocational orientation at Deutsche Schule Medellín

Vocational decision is self-constructed. Family and School should be there every step of the way. 

BY: FEDERICO CAÑÓN, Counselor at Deutsche Schule Medellín. 

The professional orientation process entails a serious, free and responsible decision. For this reason, at Deutsche Schule Medellín, we accompany our students when they go through this path. We provide two approaches: internal and external information. Internal information refers to what each person has inside of them: their interests, likes, attitudes, skills, and values. It also considers their appreciation, the way in which they make decisions; if they are impulsive or rational; if they regret what they decide frequently; and other elements. In that sense, there are processes that help the student focus on themselves by talking to family and friends, to teachers or to school counsellors; and there are also standardized tests. 

The second approach, external information, involves asking themselves the following questions: What degrees, courses or jobs are available right now? What do they do in practice? What field of education can I find in their curriculum? What is their projection into the future? At this point, it is important to determine what kind of degrees are coherent with who they are and who they want to be. The world is constantly changing. People must make decisions regularly. And they are even making decisions when they decide not to decide and follow the crowd. Every decision involves giving up on something; and that could sometimes be something that you like. It is vital then for our students, to take control of what they want to do; to see how it intertwines with their educational project; to get rid of the fear of making mistakes, of failing; and to understand that failure is a part of the journey, not the end of it. 

The world is constantly changing, and, for that reason, people must regularly make decisions. 

After intertwining who they are with who they want to be, they must find a place where they want to go. It could be any place that provides good education. Universities and educational institutions must support this process. There are some elements that also need to be considered: research budgets, inter-institutional collaboration offered by these institutions. These help, in some cases, to define a more structured path. As a German school abroad, Deutsche Schule Medellín aims to have Germany as one of the main destinations for our students. This is because German universities have an excellent reputation and prestige; they have a high academic level; most of them are State Universities, which means lower costs; and they are global-oriented with an intercultural environment that is highly beneficial. 

We educate citizens of the world at our School; we educate students that are autonomous and critical thinkers. These abilities will help them be successful in that country in case their professional orientation process leads them there when making their vocational decision.