“Generation Unlimited”: Becoming the Architect of Your Own Future
UNICEF volunteer on choosing a profession and educating Kazakhstani schoolchildren
19-year-old Nurly Kyz studied to become an English-language teacher in Nur-Sultan. However, she currently works as a designer and plans to spend the next year looking for an occupation that would be exciting and interesting for her. “The wrong profession would be difficult to change when time passes”, - she believes, so she prefers not to waste time. All the more so because last year she had the opportunity to dive into the topic of career guidance as a coordinator for UNICEF-supported “Generation Unlimited” program.
As part of the project, her mentees, 16 and 17-year-old volunteers, conducted career guidance and employability skills classes for Kazakhstani schoolchildren. Nurly Kyz has stressed the importance of these online classes: “I know that it’s often difficult to find a profession you love if you don’t know how to look. I’ve experienced it myself after the ninth grade. I was thinking, “Where am I going to go? What am I going to do next?” At the time we didn’t have any programs that would tell us how to choose the right profession, how to prepare for a job interview”.
Nurly Kyz was pleasantly surprised by the response of middle and high school students to the career guidance lessons: “They created a general chat with the volunteer and asked so many questions.” The interest of the schoolchildren, she said, mainly concerned diagnostic tests to determine their predisposition to certain activities, as well as the information on emerging professions. For example, volunteers told the listeners about mind-fitness instructors, bioethics coaches, and transmedia products architects.
She admits that advice and recommendations from UNICEF specialists seemed the most useful to her. Thus, during her online presentation the schoolchildren learned what to write in their resume if they have no prior experience in a job they apply to, where to find ready-made templates and suitable job openings, how to write cover letters, what to be prepared for during the interview and what items an employment contract must include. Nurly Kyz notes that students appreciated the volunteers’ work a lot: “Thank you for sharing the information with us. We really needed it.”
The teachers, she comments, were extremely helpful on a number of occasions. “Our job (as coordinators – ed.) was to call the teachers and make arrangements. There were understanding teachers, it was easy to deal with them, they were very accommodating,” recalls Nurly Kyz. She was very impressed with the lesson when teachers gathered the children in the auditorium, set up a microphone and camera, and identified those who would answer the questions. “It was very cool that they handled it in such a professional way”, - says the girl.
On the other hand, Nurly Kyz admits, there were some difficulties. One day, she says, she clicked on one of the zoom links to check up on the work of the volunteers only to find some students online with no volunteers to give the presentation. The girl had no choice but to take matters into her own hands and run the presentation. “And that’s when they joined the Zoom conference! I was glad they didn’t let me down, even though they had been late”, - smiles Nurly. She coordinated about 20 volunteers in this manner.
The first lesson begins with the questions: “What do your parents do for a living? Do you know what their first education was?”. Volunteers were also eager to tell students about their parents, and how they had chosen their profession and made mistakes. This, in her opinion, created a friendly and relaxed atmosphere during the online classes. The students could easily relate to what they heard from the volunteers, who have probably also faced recently or are still facing the problem of choosing their future profession.
By the way, the authors of the lesson advise schoolchildren (if they see too many options for the future or none at all) to try volunteering as well. Summer, Nurly Kyz says, is an ideal time for such activities – there are many projects and many different events where you can volunteer at. She is ready to talk at length about the benefits of her favorite pastime, which allows her “to open up to the world, get along with people, help people and yourself, develop new skills.”
"Everyone should try volunteering", –
Nurly Kyz learned about volunteering in her first year at college, when students were invited to an event involving delegations from different countries. “Since I had been trained as an English teacher, I wanted to practice the language, and I really wanted to participate”, - the girl says. Nurly Kyz managed to get an invitation, though she had to try repeatedly. “That’s where it all started. I wanted to continue, to put in effort and keep doing it. Because I put my soul into it”, - she says.
Today, Nurly Kyz often responds to opportunities offered to her by a coordinator she knows from the National Volunteer Network. The UNICEF project “Generation Unlimited” in Kazakhstan has been made possible due to the organization’s support. “Aidana lets me know about various projects, and naturally I take part in them. I never refuse, because I love the job,” says Nurly Kyz, joking that even old age won’t stop her. Her immediate plans include volunteering for the IRONMAN race.
For her, being a volunteer is much more familiar and enjoyable than being a coordinator. “You run around, do something, get to know the guys, work, learn something new”, - she explains. She adds that she “takes” something for herself from each project. For example, the program “Generation Unlimited” taught her a responsible approach to choosing her future profession and supervising the volunteers. Nurly Kyz is especially pleased that the attitude toward them is gradually changing: “Volunteers are being increasingly appreciated now. They show us their respect, take time to thank us after each project. I’m glad that they don’t forget about us, that they need us”, - she sums up.
