The World According to Cachia

Back in the day when my children were teenagers and looking longingly at their future, I said to them, it’s time that you went to your [school’s] career’s guidance counsellor to get their help to prepare yourself for the world of work… at first, I was a tad annoyed and bemused at the ‘scoffing’ remarks that I received… these people are pillars of the school society, whose main purpose is to assist you to identify your true vocation? However, after some investigation, I soon realised that this person, for all the care and concern given, was perhaps not adequately skilled nor supported in this task.

In July 2017, the Youth Action Policy Paper entitled Career Guidance, the missing link in school to work transitions was written. And from within this report, the following statement; The transition from education to further study or employment is a crucial point in time for young people. While this transition period gives young people the opportunity to consolidate skills, develop a sense of job-readiness and make decisions about their lives and career paths, it has become increasingly difficult for young people to gain employment after leaving education and training… Effective career guidance in high schools can improve the transition from education to employment for young people.

Given the above, how do we define what effective careers guidance is? We can all appreciate that an effective careers guidance program will aim to improve the individuals’ employment prospects; it provides knowledge of the job market and helps the individual focus on studies that will develop them towards their chosen field of work, of course this is once they actually understand what that work is!

Therefore, an effective careers guidance program has the potential to improve the individuals’ career opportunities as it can provide: -

-          A structured pathway/transition from [school] education to further studies,

-          Opportunities for workplace experience, and

-          Important information and guidance for all elements regarding career options.

Returning to the scenario around my children’s careers guidance experience, and those of young people I have since come into contact with; I found that providing an external careers guidance program, complete with an appropriate (online) assessment tool, provided a tailored program that meant the individual could not only understand their personality traits, but how these related to work skills…thus directing them to careers that they may actually be suited for, which could also lead to job satisfaction.

A careers guidance program has been available via HRM Consulting for some time now. This program is designed to assist individuals with identifying career choices by helping them learn more about themselves, their job choices and their [potential] career(s).

The program itself incorporates the ‘Self Directed Search [SDS]’ (questionnaire) which helps individuals explore career options by matching interests and abilities to particular occupations, and looks at six (6) personality types: - Realistic; Investigative; Artistic; Social; Enterprising and Conventional.

Contact us at HRM Consulting to find out more about this program and how it can be of benefit with regards to establishing a career path.

It seems there is [potentially] an issue with our School leavers and their lack of understanding of the nature and operation of the ‘commercial’ world and what is therefore expected of them.

Possibly this could stem from their employment expectations being beyond their immediate capabilities, which could lead to dissatisfaction from both the individual and the Company…and ultimately it results in staff turnover.   Alternatively, I am hearing [anecdotally] that although Vocational [or Careers] counselling is available at School it may not be providing the student/job seeker with the necessary skills and/or knowledge required to properly access the market in an environment that suits them.

It’s fair enough to say that if an individual does not have the maturity or stability to secure and retain a position in the workforce, then the School’s vocational programs may not help here. If however, young job seekers are missing out because they are not prepared nor do they properly target the industry that best suits them, we could possibly question the [careers counselling] program made available to them!

Having spoken with a number of parents and colleagues as well as conducting a number of ‘external’ programs for students, I am finding that rather than looking at what motivates the individual, some careers counselling programs focus on the technical aspects of the individual, hence a student may be directed to a career in [say] Accounting, purely because he/she is strong Mathematically. And although the student may be technically competent she/he may not be at all motivated to build a career in this industry.

Aside from appropriate counselling and testing programs, that help students properly identify industries/companies/positions, we should take advantage of the ‘Work Experience’ program. Its basic aim is to assist students through the transition from School to work. Work Experience Programs should be regarded as a technique in career advice as well as a means of understanding how business operates.

Suffice to say, the Careers Counselling should start well before the Work Experience program so the student can really start to consider their vocation!

There is a lot to behold when managing Career Counselling/Vocational Assessment programs, but I believe we should go further by ensuring the individual is not only technically competent but [also] has the right motivational and cultural fit for the industry/company/position!