Career advocacy benefit over 4500 students in Tacurong

Fourth year student Adil Alamada, the only one from around 160 graduating students planning to enrol in Geology course when he goes to college, thought he might be making a wrong decision. But upon learning from a career talk that a geologist is one of the hard-to-fill occupations in the labor market, he said he is making the right career choice.

Alamada of St. John Learning Center was just one of the more than 4500 students from different public and private high schools in Tacurong reached by series of career talks during the observance of Career Guidance Week on August 5 to 9, 2013.

Over two thousand students of Tacurong National High School attend the Career Talk
by LGU-Tacurong and DOLE. 

Students of Notre Dame Siena College of Tacurong during the LGU-Tacurong and DOLE Career Talk 

The secondary schools under the City Schools Division and the newly-organized Tacurong City Network of Career Guidance Advocates have been busy conducting activities during the Career Guidance Week as mandated by Department Order No. 25, series of 2013 issued by Department of Education.

The conduct of Career Guidance Week is in line with the goal of the K-12 Basic Education Program to produce graduates who are ready for higher education, middle level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Sultan Kudarat Field Office, the city government through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO), the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and other partners provided speakers in the series of career talks in schools.

In the conduct of career talks, the DOLE and PESO highlighted the DOLE’s Project Jobs Fit, a study that determines the key employment generators in the Philippine labor market until year 2020. The Jobs Fit also provided data on the in-demand and hard-to-fill occupations.

Through Project Jobs Fit, the government hopes that the problem on jobs and skills mismatch that contributes to unemployment could be properly addressed. DOLE’s efforts in addressing jobs and skills mismatch is in line with President Benigno Aquino III’s 22-point labor and employment agenda, whose overarching goal is to invest in the country’s human resource to make them more competitive and employable.

TESDA meanwhile presented to the students its different programs while also emphasizing on the potential of technical-vocational courses as employment drivers of the country’s economy.

Schools that were reached by the week-long career advocacy included: St. John Learning Center, Siloam ABC Tutorial and Learning Center, Notre Dame of Tacurong College-High School Department, Notre Dame Siena College of Tacurong, Rajah Muda National High School, AS Bernardo Memorial National High School, Tacurong National High School, and San Emmanuel National High School, VMC City College-High School Deparment, and Quezon Colleges of Southern Philippines-High School Department.

Tacurong National High School, with more than two thousand students, had the largest number of participants reached by the career advocacy.

Parents who were also encouraged to attend the career talks gave a favourable feedback after the lectures. Mrs. Gomaida Segocio, a teacher in Tacurong National High School, said that she had been previously adamant in convincing her daughter to enrol in Education course. But her daughter wants to be a chemical engineer instead.

When Mrs. Segocio learned that chemical engineering is one of the hard-to-fill occupations, she said she is now ready to concede to her daughter’s career choice.

“I learned a lot in the career talk, and I appreciate the fact that parents are being involved because most of the times, children’s career choices are influenced by their parents,” Mrs. Segocio said.

Career Guidance Week culminating activity

On August 8, the city government hosted a city-wide culminating activity of the Career Guidance Week. More than 700 students from various schools, together with their principals and guidance counselors attended the parade and the closing ceremonies that followed.

In their message during the closing program, Mayor Lina Montilla, School Division Superintendent Gildo Mosqueda, and City Council Labor and Employment Committee Chairperson Benjamin ‘Sonny’ Fajardo pledged their full support to all career advocacy programs.

Mayor Lina O. Montilla speaks during the Culmination Program of the Career Guidance Week.

Education Committee Chairperson Ariel Ferdinand dela Cruz, who helped the DOLE and the PESO in organizing the network of guidance counselors, also found allies in Councilors Welson Ferrer and Psyche Sucaldito who joined the culminating activity. Other members of the city council also pledged their support.

The Rotary Club of Tacurong and the Rotaract Club-Talakudong have also been ardent partners of DOLE and the city government in the conduct of career advocacy. Rotaract even helped in the preparation of the culmination program, while Rotary sponsored prizes for the raffle draw.

DOLE Provincial Head Arlene Bisnon said that the convergence of the government and the private sector in career advocacy programs bodes well for the city of Tacurong. “Patnerships are always encouraged because goals are easily achieved when diverse groups work as one,” she said. (Allan Freno, LGU Tacurong City)