Basics of Horizontal and Vertical career path for my LP Level 4:

The information regarding this topic will be very limited in scope as your level does not need to know all the technicalities involved. Basically, there are two types of career paths that a person embarks on (starts with) when you enter the labour market: Vertical and Horizontal.

Vertical career path:

Your vertical career path is what everybody understands and is seen as ‘moving up’ in a company. It simply means that you have moved one step higher or closer to top management. Consequently, because there are different levels, the organisations structure is shaped like a pyramid with each level having fewer people in, but each person carrying more responsibility.  Generally then, moving up means taking on, not only more responsibility over a larger fraction of what has to be done, but also the decisions and the consequences of your decisions in this regard. One then becomes more empowered (job enrichment) in your work as you have more say in what has to be done at work, but at the same time this means also taking on more risk as more of the blame for when things go wrong becomes your own.

Horizontal career path:

This means that you move from one job to the next, usually in the same company, but on the same level of responsibility. As such, you do not become more empowered (enriched) as your responsibilities over your work and the impact of it on the rest of the company has not increased, rather you are just doing a different job.  You experience then job enlargement, your functions at work has increased, but you’re say or your capacity to make decision about your work has stayed the same. Usually horizontal career changes is part of the training the individual needs to be able to move on to a higher level of employment that would require full knowledge of all lower level functions at work and therefore the individual first needs to become acquainted(well versed or bale to do)with all those lower level jobs. If one then looks at the picture above, this means that you move along the different jobs on the lower levels (horizontally), before gaining enough knowledge and experience to take on more responsibility and moving up to a higher level (vertically) till at the very top you find your board of directors such as your HR director or your operations director. Usually one experiences a mix of these two as you progress throughout your career. 

Rough Zulu translation:

Ulwazi mayelana nalesi sihloko izobe ilinganiselwe kakhulu ububanzi njengoba level yakho akudingeki wazi konke nemibandela abathintekayo. Ngokuyinhloko, kunezinhlobo ezimbili kwenkonzo izindlela ukuthi umuntu uqala on (yazi) lapho ubhala emakethe labour: Kuqondile and Kuvundlile.
Career mpo: 
Umzila umsebenzi wakho mpo yikho bonke uyaqonda futhi ubonakala 'ezihamba up' in inkampani. Kumane nje kusho ukuthi uye washukumiseleka isinyathelo esisodwa ephakeme noma eduze abaphathi. Ngenxa yalokho, ngoba zikhona amazinga ehlukene, isakhiwo izinhlangano is eme umbhoshongo nge level ngamunye kokuba abantu abambalwa, kodwa umuntu ngamunye ithwele umthwalo xaxa. Ngokuvamile ke, ezinyakazayo up izindlela ethatha, yemfanelo nje kuphela ngaphezulu phezu encane elikhudlwana salokho okumelwe kwenziwe, kodwa futhi izinqumo kanye nemiphumela yezinqumo zakho kulokhu. Omunye ke kuba nolwazi namandla (emisebenzi kwandzisa lwati) emsebenzini wakho neminyaka yakho besathi kulokho okudingeka bayenze emsebenzini, kodwa ngesikhathi esifanayo lokhu kusho ukuthatha ingozi xaxa njengoba ngaphezulu basola lapho izinto zingahambi kahle kuba lakho umnikazi.

Career enezingqimba:

Lokhu kusho ukuthi wena basuka kwelinye msebenzi kuya kwesinye, ngokuvamile ngo inkampani efanayo, kodwa ezingeni elifanayo yemfanelo. Ngokunjalo, nina ningabi inikezwe amandla nangokwengeziwe (kwakucebisa) njengoba izibopho zakho phezu komsebenzi wakho kanye nomthelela phezu lonke inkampani kungazange anda, kunalokho wenza nje umsebenzi ehlukene. Uba ke umsebenzi ukwandisa, imisebenzi yakho emsebenzini liye landa, kodwa ungumuntu nithi noma umthamo wakho ukuze wenze isinqumo mayelana nomsebenzi wakho uye wahlala okufanayo. Inkambo Ngokuvamile enezingqimba kushintsha kuyingxenye ukuqeqeshwa muntu kudingeka akwazi ukuthutha on kuya ezingeni eliphakeme lomsebenzi ofuna ukuba kamhlophe yonke imisebenzi ezingeni leliphasi emsebenzini ngakhoke izidingo zomuntu ngamunye kuqala bazane (zazi kahle noma Bale ukuze akwenze) nazo zonke lezo imisebenzi ezingeni eliphansi. Uma omunye ke ubheka isithombe esingenhla, lokhu kusho ukuthi uthuthe eduze imisebenzi ehlukene kwi emazingeni aphansi (nendawo), ngaphambi ekutholeni ulwazi olwanele kanye nesipiliyoni ukuze bathwale imithwalo yemfanelo eyengeziwe futhi ezihamba up ezingeni eliphezulu (ngenhla) kuze at the etulu kakhulu uthola ibhodi yakho yabaqondisi efana HR wakho director noma nokuhlinzwa zakho umqondisi. Ngokuvamile elilodwa nalo kuba ukuxuba salezi ezimbili njengoba uthuthukela kulo lonke ibizelo lakho.