With the thousands of young men and women reaching the end of their school days and sitting for their HSC, it can be a very challenging time in their lives.
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Decisions and choices in abundance are needing to be made, and the outcomes are not necessarily understood. A Higher School Certificate is not the be-all and end-all of life's hopes and dreams.
We live in such a competitive world that personal goals and achievements in themselves often get swept under the carpet while competitive results take the forefront.
This is where we need to look at the individual and personal talents of each person, acknowledging that each one is different, and that in our vast and widespread society we need people with a variety of skills and competencies to make sure that all avenues are properly catered for and recognise that all levels of education and employment are needed.
Not all of these will have courses in universities and select career pathways, and not every applicant will necessarily have the personality or the interpersonal skills to operate in one of these fields.
That is not to say they are less valuable, less worthwhile or less intelligent, but rather that their skills and aptitudes belong in other spheres.
Whatever could we do without our "tradies", skilled electricians, plumbers, builders, carpenters and the like?
These are highly trained and competent in their fields without a University degree behind them, and we would all be the poorer without their assistance when needed.
Vocations like medicine in all its avenues, teaching, nursing, and such, require good interpersonal skills in addition to the Degrees on offer and necessary to ensure they know their field and can competently carry out their roles.
We are pretty good at saluting the high achievers in all levels of society. But high achievement cannot become an end in itself.
Once upon a time Sport was called a game and the players were able to enjoy space, time and recreation.
These days, every sporting game seems to be set up on contest demands.
Every player's performance is judged and compared and assessed, audiences are loud in their support of one side or the other, and players who don't come up to scratch for whatever reason are quickly replaced.
Every young man and woman leaving High School at this time needs to have a good and solid understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses, hopes
and dreams, and make sure that they can make it all work together to provide a pathway into the world of adult employment, achievement and life fulfilment.
The question is not whether I have a higher result, outstripped my competitors and reached the top of the greasy pole, but rather, have I used my gifts and talents as well as I could and found a satisfying and promising career pathway .
My wish for all our young graduates is that they will be able to begin their adult life with confidence and skill to embrace employment that is fulfilling and rewarding and creates a firm foundation on which to build the future.
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