Supporting our younger generation to make informed employment choices

For fifteen of my twenty-three years in the recruitment industry, I delivered apprenticeship recruits for large organisations. My team and I had to complete the whole process from accepting applications to shortlisting and justifying to the client that these were the best (and only) applicants to interview.

From this experience I developed a strong opinion that our younger generation looking to start their career need more guidance. They need to know what opportunities are available to them, they require support with their decision making and the tools to get the job they want.

I went through this process with my daughter last year in Grade 10. My advice to her was threefold:

(1)    Step aside from the pressure. This came predominantly from the education system where they have to make a choice for their set plan in Year 10 that determines their path for the next two years.

(2)    This is your first job, and you need not live with that choice for the rest of your career so for goodness’ sake, choose something you will enjoy doing. You can change your path at any stage.

(3)    Once you have made the decision, work hard to get there. Take the time to do the preparation.

When she gets to the stage of applying for a job, I need to make sure she has done her research and is prepared. Kelly and I are both passionate about boosting the support for our young people and giving them the knowledge and tools to get the job that will make them happy. Although slightly outside of our core service, we recognised the need to support these young people, so we developed our “Entering Employment for School Aged Students” program.

Our program starts with “Why you want that job” to what to expect on your first day.  Resume writing, preparation, practical interview role plays, appropriate social media use and everything in between. Of course, we would dearly love it if there was no need to develop this course but 22 years in recruitment has shown me different.

Now, if you have the current market knowledge and your kids listen to you (did I mention I have two teenagers) then absolutely this is the best-case scenario. However as I have been both employer and recruiter, I know this doesn’t always happen.

Let’s support our kids so they have a brighter future in a job they love and where they can feel they make a difference, as we hope to do through our program. Let’s allow our young people to reach their stars by giving them the tools to succeed.