Dr JP Cronje is the Learning Process Facilitator and Coach on the Young Minds Programme hosted by the Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development.
Dr JP Cronje
Every year, thousands of South African matriculants are asked the same question: "What are you going to do next?" For many adults and parents, it seems like a perfectly reasonable question, expecting university, a job or apprenticeship as the standard answer.
But it's astonishing how we expect young people to have all the answers at a time when the rest of us are still trying to understand what the future will look like. The transition from school to adulthood has never been simple. For today's young people, it has become considerably more complex than it was for previous generations.
A generation ago, the path ahead was often more predictable. While uncertainty certainly existed, the rules of the game were easier to understand. Careers followed relatively established routes, industries changed gradually and qualifications generally led to clearly defined professions. Today, that certainty and predictability has largely disappeared.
