DOLE holds career guidance coaching campaign

A total of 249,853 high school and college graduates stand to benefit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s career guidance and employment coaching in 16 regions. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the career guidance and employment coaching activities will be held in 789 venues, in cooperation with public employment service offices (PESOs) and school-based guidance counselor networks. “The activities, which will be in the form of seminars, are meant to inform students on key labor market information, including jobs that are in demand and which will be in demand in the next 10 years," Baldoz said. She said students should decide their career choices on the basis of what the labor market needs and not on what is popular so they can land sure jobs after graduation. “This will address the problem on mismatch," she said, adding students and parents can look for a list of in-demand jobs on the DOLE’s Project JobsFit site at www.dole.gov.ph. She said the DOLE is working with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), school-based PESOs, and the nationwide guidance counselor networks for a continuing career guidance drive for students nationwide. Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Maria Criselda Sy said 1,700 PESOs has worked with the school-based GC network to conduct career guidance seminars and disseminate relevant labor market information to thousands of students in secondary, tertiary, and tech-voc schools nationwide. “These seminars have been conducted making use of the BLE’s new Career Guide for High School Students, as well as the Employment Guide for College Students and Jobseekers," said Sy. “During the seminars, we have disseminated key labor market information to participants, including the DOLE’s Project JobsFit and its data on in-demand and hard-to-fill occupations in the key employment generators in industries to provide students with well-informed and intelligent skills paths and choices of careers," she added. Sy thanked the hundreds of colleges, high schools and tech-voc institutions that signified their participation in the seminars. Sy said that of the expected 249,583 participants, 39,000 will come from Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN); 34,967 from Region 3 (Central Luzon); 29,550 from Region 11 (Davao Region); 19,485 Region 2 (Cagayan Valley); 18,170 from Region 5 (Bicol); and 15,696 from Region 7 (Central Visayas). In addition to the career guidance and employment counseling, Sy said training, advocacies and other pertinent activities being facilitated by the DOLE regional offices in the 16 regions. These include career coaching and labor education for graduating students, PESO and guidance counselors training, conduct of quarterly GC meetings and stakeholder conferences, labor market orientations, social dialogues, world of work fairs and campus tours. — LBG, GMA News