DOLE's Guiding Youth Careers handbook to help Young Jobseekers

To further realize the vision and diligent efforts of many people who are committed to steering the youth in the right direction, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz encouraged last week parents and mentors of young people to use the department’s Guiding Youth Careers: A Handbook for Those Who Help Young Jobseekers.

“Parents, teachers, and peers play a significant role in the career exploration process of young people. They largely participate in helping the youth find their desired path. At the same time, they help them maintain a solid course towards continuous self-discovery and success,” she said.

Baldoz said it is only now during the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III that necessary and sufficient attention is being paid to career counseling, which plays a large part in the success of young people, but hastened to add that it is not too late.

In highly developed countries, career guidance provides five basic categories of service, namely: (a) career information, on local and foreign employment opportunities and labor market trends; (b) career education, on career planning and decision making; (c) career counseling, self-assessment, and self-definition; (d) employment counseling, on writing resumes and interviewing skills; and (e) job placement, on actual job search services.

“Job search must not be conducted in a shotgun approach, where hit or miss is the name of the game. It is a process and looking for it requires a structured methodology. This is exactly the approach contained in this handbook,” Baldoz said.

The handbook contains four parts, which describe the set of activities that young job seekers must do in order to move forward in the search process. The parts are explained in detail in their appropriate sections, namely, Part 1: Knowing where you’ve been; Part 2: Knowing what you’ve got; Part 3: Knowing where and how to look; and Part 4: Making the deal.

In addition, the handbook is enriched with inspiring articles and success stories, which may serve as supplementary source materials for career guides. It also has tips on how to enhance entrepreneurial skills and offers information on business development as a career option.

“The Guiding Youth Careers handbook includes a comprehensive list of job search venues, and employment and entrepreneurial websites that readers can use accordingly,” Baldoz said.

“With this handbook, career guidance counselors, teachers, and parents will have an effective tool in providing relevant and accessible information and guidance services that will fit the needs of our young people, thus enabling them to move forward and to triumph on their own,” Baldoz ended.

The manual, first published in 2007, is a collaborative project of the DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) and the International Labour Organization. The softbound manual contains 113 pages and measures 6 × 9 inches.

It is primarily designed to complement another BLE publication, the Minute Guide for Young Jobseekers, and a set of occupational flyers of 20 occupations identified to be in demand for the next five years.

Guiding Youth Careers: A Handbook for Those Who Help Young Jobseekers and Minute Guide for Young Jobseekers are part of the DOLE’s body of labor market information advocacy materials designed to help raise awareness and understanding of the labor market to address jobs–skills mismatch.

The DOLE has embarked on career advocacy as part of its labor market information delivery services to help college graduates and job seekers prepare for entry to the labor market.

For any questions about this release or to obtain a copy of the handbook and other labor market information materials, visit the DOLE’s BLE at the 6^th floor, First Intramuros BF Condominium Corporation, Solana Street corner Andres Soriano Avenue (formerly Aduana Street), Intramuros, Manila. You may call 528-0084 or 528-0184; fax an inquiry at 527-2421; or emailble_lmcgd@yahoo.com.