The Impact of Career Counseling and Educational Assistance on Career Awareness among Human Resource Management Students in Tertiary Education

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21886952

Reginald Ndwamai¹ and Mphoreng Mmako² (Department of Human Resource Management and Labour Relations, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa¹ and Department of Management Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa²)

Under current conditions of growing competition and complexity in the labour market, universities have an important responsibility to provide students with the skills, knowledge, and career direction necessary for successful career development. This study examined the relationship between career guidance, academic support, and career clarity among Human Resource Management (HRM) students at a selected university in Lithuania. A quantitative research approach was adopted, and data were collected from 50 undergraduate students using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were employed to analyse the relationships among the variables. The findings revealed that both career guidance and academic support were positively associated with career clarity. However, only academic support had a statistically significant positive effect on career clarity (β = 0.458, B = 0.508, p = 0.006). In contrast, career guidance demonstrated a positive but non-significant relationship with career clarity (β = 0.184, B = 0.184, p = 0.259). The regression model was statistically significant (F = 13.124, p < 0.001) and explained 35.8% of the variance in career clarity (R² = 0.358). These findings highlight the critical role of academic support in enhancing students’ confidence, competencies, and career decision-making capabilities, while also indicating the need to strengthen the effectiveness of career guidance services within higher education institutions. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on student support services and career development in tertiary education.