In a bid to empower the next generation with skills and direction for their future, Veronica Kumi Yeboah, the School Improvement Support Officer (SISO), Yamfo Circuit, has organised a career fair for students and Junior High School graduates at Susuanso in the Ahafo Region.

The career guidance fair is also aimed at helping young people explore career paths and make informed choices about their future.

It featured presentations and mentorship sessions from professionals in fields such as medicine, engineering, agriculture, journalism, security and emergency services, entrepreneurship, and skilled trades.

Participants were taken through career opportunities in the extractive industry and preparing for university, including admissions and scholarship opportunities, overcoming challenges and staying focused

Speaking at the fair, the organiser, Veronica Kumi Yeboah, emphasised the need to equip students with career awareness at an early stage, especially in rural communities where access to such guidance is limited.

"We want to close the information gap. Many of our students have dreams but no roadmap. This career fair is to show them what is possible and how to get there," she indicated.

Mrs Kumi Yeboah stated that guidance and counselling should not be limited to cities but across the country, saying that every child deserves direction and opportunity, no matter their background.

According to the organiser, she has been single-handedly funding the fair with attendance and costs shooting up every year.

She called on individuals, institutions and groups to support.

The Guest Speaker, Dr Wadood Moomen, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Mines, University of Energy and Natural Resources, said that though he wanted to become a professional pilot in life, he is now in the lecture hall as a teacher.

Dr Wadood Moomen indicated that a chosen career for the future might change in the process; others are fulfilled while some are carried out as part-time to a different profession.

The mining lecturer noted that there are amazing careers in the extractive industry, which residents in the mining communities are not aware urging students and graduates to explore beyond the traditional jobs they see around.

He lauded Veronica Kumi Yeboah's initiative of offering guidance and counselling services to students and JHS graduates in the mining enclave, noting that the choice of future careers for students needs stakeholder collaboration.

A participant from Terchire, Helen Darko, noted that "I have always wanted to be a nurse, but today I’ve learnt about other health careers I never knew existed. This has really helped me".

Ohene Kofi Nyantakyi, another beneficiary student from Yamfo, expressed gratitude to the organiser, adding that now I know what to do after JHS and the steps I need to take.

For many of the students, the fair was not just a day of learning; it was a day of awakening, planting seeds of ambition and purpose in their hearts.

With a vision to expand the fair in the coming years, Veronica Kumi Yeboah is optimistic that this initiative will become a turning point for many rural students in Tano North Municipality to rise and pursue their dreams with clarity and confidence.