(CZ) Zkušenosti s navrhováním povolání u mládeže obtížně zařaditelné
(EN) Experiences with Suggesting Suitable Occupations for Young People Difficult to Employ

The authors report on some experiences with suggesting suitable occupations for adolescents with physical defects or mental disorders, diseases, bad conduct or poor attainment at school. These experiences have been gathered as a result of an inquiry into the reliability of medical and psychological examinations of these adolescents in 1956—58. After about 4—6 years they asked the parents about the careers of these adolescents by means of questionnaires. Out of 181 questionnaires 82 have been returned showing that 82.9 per cent of the adolescents concerned were doing well in the occupations chosen according to the experts’ suggestions. The number of persons in this group has gone down to 60 (examined at the age of 14—16) and the result is 86.7 per cent. Those who proved unfit for the occupations chosen for them were especially persons with disharmonious development. The authors further mentioned some experiences:
1. In practice it is often suggested that those with physical defects should do mental work, but they prove to be failures because they have not the necessary mental pre-requisites for these occupations. That is why psychological examination is also necessary.
2. It is pointless to recommend an adolescent for light work where there are strenuous jobs as well, because the employer takes no account of the recommendation.
3. There are not enough detailed pictures of occupations, on which one could base one’s decisions in practice.
4. School records and questionnaires are often very subjective in nature and cannot give, by themselves, a general idea of the mental capacities of the adolescents.
5. The authors stress the fact that pedagogical advisers for education and choice of occupation at schools should have a deeper knowledge of psychology.
6. They recommend co-operation with the school doctor.
7. The most difficult problem is to find suitable occupations for young people with disharmonious development and those who are mentally defective.