A multi-cultural investigation of students' career anchors at a South African higher education institution.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate the career anchors of a large, multi-cultural sample of South African respondents in an attempt to better understand how people from the various age, educational, marital, race and gender groups differ in terms of their career anchors as measured by the Career Orientations Inventory. A sample of 2997 students at a South African higher education institution participated in the study. The results indicated significant differences between the various biographical variables and the participants’ career anchors. In the context of Employment Equity, and with more women entering the workplace, this study is expected to contribute important knowledge that will inform career development and retention practices in the contemporary workplace.