An online job finding tool released earlier this year aims to make students and teachers more aware of opportunities and careers available in the digital sectors.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
This age-old question is as relevant today in the technological era as it was before the age of digital careers.
However, with rapidly progressing advances in the ever-changing digital sector, teachers and careers advisors may not be aware of all the new jobs and career opportunities available to students, let alone be able to suggest these as possibilities for their futures.
The Future Jobs Finder tool, created by Vodafone, aims to provide awareness of digital career opportunities and access to training for young people in a digital economy.
Inspired by research conducted with 6,000 18–24-year-olds in 15 countries and created with input from psychologists, careers advisers and training providers, the tool consists of quick psychometric tests to identify a student’s aptitudes and interests. This information is then mapped to the most appropriate job category in the digital economy.
Vodafone Graduate Manager Tracey Walsh says the wider school community, such as teachers, careers advisers and parents, can use the tool to help provide advice to the young people in their lives.
“Where do young people go to get career advice? It is parents, it is teachers, so Future Jobs Finder is a great insight into what is actually out there in terms of digital careers,” she says.
“Young people want to know what digital jobs are out there and they want to hear about emerging digital jobs. Once they know about these jobs then they need to know how they can get into a digital career.”
The best way teachers can help their students to get the most out of Future Jobs Finder is to encourage them to try the tool, she says.
“Give it a go, do some of the training, definitely look at playing to the strengths that it lists, look at actually pulling that and putting it onto your CV. That’ll also help in terms of understanding what you’re good at, and then look at a table of what roles would allow you to use that skill set.”
Future Job Finder is one of a number of initiatives that help young people find out about careers, says Ministry of Education Employer Liaison Manager Patrick McKibbon.
“To find out what helps most, we spend time connecting with employers to understand how, why and what they are doing to create career paths for young people.”
For more information about Future Jobs Finder(external link).
BY Education Gazette editors
Education Gazette | Tukutuku Kōrero, reporter@edgazette.govt.nz
Posted: 2:10 pm, 10 May 2018
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