Jun 01 - Government Launches New Careers And Employment Development Service
A new Careers and Employment Development Service to assist and advise students on their future career options was launched this morning by the Ministry of Business and Employment in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.
Although this new service is mainly aimed at young persons between the ages of 14 to 19 years, it is in principle open to all who need employment advice in the form of workshops, one-to-one tuition and school and college visits.
The Government says it has attentively listened to the views of students and acknowledges that this sector requires “targeted attention and tailor made solutions.”
Currently, the Department of Education has a teacher in each of the secondary schools who offers career advice. The new service will work closely with these teachers to provide the best possible advice to students. It is hoped that these innovative services will help students to learn and better understand the world of work in order to help them make “informed educational, career and employment decisions.”
The programme will be structured in three stages:
- Stage one will cater for students aged 14-15 (Year 10) who are now contemplating whether to leave education without having attempted the GCSE exams. Advice on taking subjects necessary or useful, for a particular career, will be given, as well as encouragement to continue with their studies.
- Stage two is tailored for students who will be facing their first significant crossroad at the ages of 15-16 (Year 11). They will need to decide whether to pursue A-Levels, a course at the Gibraltar College, an apprenticeship, or start employment. Advice on all of these different options will be offered to the students.
- Stage three of the service is geared at students from the age of 16 years, just before they have chosen their A-levels or a course at the Gibraltar College. Here they will be facing yet another important crossroad in their lives. This stage includes advice on modules or courses for a specific career path and also advice on preparing a CV and for a job interview.
All the above tools will, says the Government, serve to assist our younger generation to “set and adjust their sails towards their desired destination.”
This new service will also cater for those who do not fall into the above categories and are not presently in employment or in education. This group will be assisted by preparing them with skills to help them enhance their employment prospects when applying for job vacancies.
There will be workshops on:
- CV writing and cover letters;
- interview skills;
- the importance of body language, time keeping, presentation, etc.;
- relaxation techniques to aid before and during interviews.
The Minister for Education, Gilbert Licudi, said: “This new service will undoubtedly prove a valuable source of information and advice to students who may not be clear as to how to proceed at such an early stage in their lives. Government Officers will visit the schools and provide awareness of the new services being offered.”
Commenting on the above, the Minister for Business and Employment, Neil F Costa, said: “I am very pleased to announce this new joint initiative, the idea of which, I am proud to say, has arisen from one of my members of staff at the Department of Employment after carefully considering individual cases. I am certain that this new programme will be of great benefit to our students, who, at different stages of their schooling, will need to make important decisions that will affect their working lives. The services offered will be provided in different formats to suit different learning styles. This programme will complement those already offered by the Department of Employment and is yet another strand of the Government’s multi-track employment strategies, which aim to find employment opportunities to persons seeking employment.”
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