Sharon Asks: My son is in Grade 9 selecting his Grade 10 subjects.  He is very undecided about what career to choose.  He is very interested in personal training (gym), diet.  What would he study after matric to get involved in this?  Sports Management? Dietics? And Where?  We live in Cape Town.

Dear Sharon Your son’s indecision is not unexpected at this age; he is still exploring career ideas and anything you can do to provide a positive and encouraging influence can boost his confidence when searching or making decisions about his career choices. 

When choosing subjects it is important to keep as many options open as possible. To help you with this process we have provided some links to institutions and their admission requirements:

There are a number of study routes for aspirant Personal Trainers:

• FET College: for example explore the  sport management diploma offered by Northlink web page: http://www.northlink.co.za/sport.asp?nav=prospective
• University of Stellenbosch: BSc Sport Science web page: http://www.maties.com/portal/page/portal/Maties/English/Undergraduate%20Prospectus/Sciences/Programmes%20in%20Biological%20Sciences/BSc%20in%20Sport%20Science .
  • Subjects Required: English, Afrikaans, Mathematics,  Physical Sciences (while Life Science is not required it will be useful)
• Sports Management through the University of Stellenbosch requires a BSc Sport Science. Please consult the following pages for admission requirements: http://www.maties.com/portal/page/portal/Maties/English/Undergraduate%20Prospectus/Sciences/Programmes%20in%20Biological%20Sciences/BSc%20in%20Sport%20Science
  • Subjects Required: English, Afrikaans, Mathematics,  Physical Sciences (while Life Science is not required it will be useful)

Dietetics may be accessed through a BSc degree from the University of Stellenbosch:
Please consult the following web page for admission requirements: http://www.maties.com/portal/page/portal/Maties/English/Undergraduate%20Prospectus/Health%20Sciences/Allied%20Health%20Sciences/BSc%20in%20Dietetics

• Subjects required : English, Afrikaans, mathematics, Physical Sciences and Life Science.

It is important that your son gets to explore these different career areas so that he can make realistic decisions based on knowledge and experience. I am sure you already know the many helpful ways you can assist and encourage your son’s career development; if you will bear with me I would like to list them for the benefit of the other users of our website:

Work together with your son, in an open minded way, to identify his career goals by

• Helping him gather information about himself and develop a positive self-concept
• Help him use his self-knowledge to generate career ideas
• Help your son identify and explore the career fields that suit him
• Explore future career trends for each of the career fields identified and then identify and explore appropriate career pathways
• Most importantly you need to encourage lifelong learning

Help your son gather realistic information about himself by:

• Acknowledging the full range of his strengths and interests
• Positively engage your son in learning about topics that interest him through reading, hobbies and activities; this may also give him a head start while making him feel comfortable and connected to his future. Go with activities he enjoys.
• Instil an understanding within your child that he is a capable and resourceful person and build confidence by inspiring him to dream and plan for his future.
• Actively listen and be open to talking about special moments such as activities in and out of school.
• Encourage him to explore his options when and where they arise.

Talk to as many relevant people as possible about the decisions ahead:

• Talk to his school counsellor and teachers
• Consider getting a career development assessment done

I hope this information will assist you to help your son with his subject choice decision. Please let us know how he gets on. Best wishes from the Career Planet Team

Jose Asks: I am in Grade 9 and need some advice on what subjects to study next year. My dream profession is to become a chef.

Dear Jose Thank you for your email. We suggest you explore your local University of Technology’s National Diploma Hospitality Management: Professional Cookery for their admission requirements:

• Western Cape: Cape Peninsula University of Technology (www.cput.ac.za)
• Free State: Central University of Technology (www.cut.ac.za)
• Gauteng: Tshwane University of Technology (www.tut.ac.za)
• KwaZulu Natal: Durban University of Technology (www.dut.ac.za) and Mangosuthu University of Technology (www.mantec.ac.za)

For example the Cape Peninsular University of Technology requires:

• English,
• Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy
• as well as one of the following: Accounting, Economics, Hospitality studies, Life Science or Tourism.

Once you have chosen the subjects you want to take from the subjects offered by your school, you need to make sure they meet the following minimum criteria for the National Senior Certificate (endorsed for a National Diploma). If you answer “yes” to all of the questions then you are likely to have the right subjects for becoming a chef by following the National Diploma route: 

• Do you have 2 languages (usually English and another South African language)?
• Do you have Mathematics or Mathematical literacy?
• Do you have Life Orientation?
• Do you have 3 Choice Subjects (Electives); remember you must choose at least one of the following “chef” subjects: Accounting, Economics, Hospitality Studies, Life Science or Tourism.
• Now look at your whole subject package; do you have 4 NSC designated subjects (for diplomas) drawn from the following list:
  • English and any other official languages,
  • Agricultural Management Practices, Agricultural Science, Agricultural Technology,
  • Dance Studies, Design, Dramatic Arts, Music, Visual Arts,
  • Accounting, Business Studies, Economics,
  • Civil Technology, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology, Engineering Graphics And Design,
  • Geography, History, Religion Studies,
  • Computer Applications Technology, Information Technology,
  • Life Sciences, Physical Sciences,
  • Consumer Studies, Hospitality Studies, Tourism.

For example: you meet the “4 designated subject” requirement if you take English, Afrikaans, Mathematical Literacy and Life Science.Another example: English, isiXhosa, Mathematics and Hospitality Studies.

We hope this gives you some indication of the subjects you need to take in grade 10. Best wishes from The Career Planet Team

Raeesa Asks: I am currently in grade 9 and wish to study to become a chartered accountant. PLEASE tell me which subjects I require in grade 10 to do so.

Dear Raeesa Thank you for your email. I am going to begin my reply with your goal in mind; which is you would like to register as a Chartered Accountant with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Therefore you will need, and I quote from the UCT Faculty of Commerce Handbook page 112: “Students studying towards the CA(SA) at UCT can do either a BCom (3 years) or BBusSc (4 years) Chartered Accountant stream. All these qualifications include Financial Reporting III, Taxation I, Auditing and Managerial Accounting II and Financial Management or Finance Honours. These studies are followed by the one year Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (PGDA). A PGDA or equivalent from an accredited University is a prerequisite to write Part I of the CA(SA) Qualifying Examination. Successful completion of Part I is the educational prerequisite for the Specialism examination which is offered in either Auditing or Financial Management.”
 

We suggest you explore your local University for their admission requirements. Listed below are the websites for all the higher education institutions in South Africa:

Public Universities: Compiled from http://www.hesa.org.za/ 
 

Western Cape:
 

• University of Cape Town www.uct.ac.za
• University of Stellenbosch www.sun.ac.za
• University of the Western Cape www.uwc.ac.za

Eastern Cape:
 

• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University www.nmmu.ac.za
• Rhodes University www.ru.ac.za
• University of Fort Hare www.ufh.ac.za
• Walter Sisulu University  www.wsu.ac.za

Free State:

• University of the Free State www.uovs.ac.za
   

Gauteng:

• University of Johannesburg www.uj.ac.za
• University of Pretoria www.up.ac.za
• University of South Africa (UNISA) www.unisa.ac.za
• Vaal University of Technology www.vut.ac.za
• University of the Witwatersrand www.wits.ac.za

KwaZulu Natal:

• Mangosuthu University of Technology www.mantec.ac.za
• University of KwaZulu-Natal www.ukzn.ac.za
• University of Zululand www.uzulu.ac.za
   

Limpopo:

• University of Limpopo www.ul.ac.za
• University of Venda  www.univen.ac.za

North West:

• North-West University www.nwu.ac.za

In summary, most universities require English and Mathematics for their BCom / BBusSci degrees. Other subjects which may be useful include: Accounting, Economics and Information Technology.

We hope this information will help you to choose your subjects. Best wishes for your future career as a Chartered Accountant from The Career Planet Team.

Priscilla Asks: Please could you assist me with information about IT courses; my son is in grade 8 and he is interested in IT. He would like to know what subjects he needs to choose for this career path.

Dear Priscilla Thank you for your question regarding which subjects your son should take if he wants a career in IT. This is quite a difficult question to answer as ICT is a very wide field including a large number of careers. We therefore suggest your son explores the ICT section of Career Planet to help him decide which area is likely to provide him with the most satisfaction. Click here for ICT Career information. 

IT careers may be accessed through three main types of training each with their own entry requirements:

National Diploma Information Technology from a University of Technology. Most courses require four 20-credit subjects including Mathematics and English. Click here to learn more about 20-credit subjects.

Information Technology, Computer Science or Information Systems Degrees from a University: Most universities require four 20 credit subjects including Mathematics, English and Physical Science or Information Technology. Click here to learn more about 20-credit subjects. Institution entry requirements vary so it is imperative that your son consults the admission requirements for the institutions he wants to attend after he has finished school. 

National Certificate (Vocational) Information Technology and Computer Science from a College of Further Education and Training (FET College) require a minimum of a grade 9 with Mathematics. The holder of the National Certificate (Information Technology and Computer Science) will be able to:

• Test Programmes and software applications
• Write computer programmes
• Install network cables for computer systems
• Process computer data
• Develop, research and document computer user requirements

We hope this information will help your son make an informed subject choice. Best wishes from The Career Planet Team
 

• Introduction to earth and environmental sciences
• Geography, development and the environment
• Mathematics or statistics
• Physical environment
• Contemporary urban challenges
• Synoptic climatology
• Environmental change and challenge
• Sustainability & the environment
• Geographic thought.