Online tool to help young job seekers take the first step

MEDIA RELEASE

28 November 2011

Online tool to help young job seekers take the first step

Ever considered that playing computer games, doing volunteer work for a community charity or even feeding the neighbour’s cat could help you get a job? If not, it’s time to think again!

Careers New Zealand has launched a new online tool that helps all people - but particularly young people looking to enter the workforce for the first time - identify the various skills they pick up in their daily lives and suggests ways they can use these skills to find work.

“Know Your Skills” is a self-help, interactive learning tool developed by Careers New Zealand and is now available to assist job seekers as they navigate these challenging economic times.

Careers New Zealand website content manager Bernie Burrell said a backdrop of record youth unemployment – more than 24 percent for 15-19 year-olds in New Zealand - and global economic uncertainty meant tools like Know Your Skills would become increasingly critical to Kiwi kids as they transitioned from secondary school into work or training.

“We had more than 3 million visits to our website last year and we know young people are really struggling for work at the moment. The problem is, many of them think that if they don’t have paid work experience, they don’t have any skills. This simply isn’t true,” said Ms Burrell.

“Our new Know Your Skills online tool will show people how to identify their unique skills and then how to use these in their job hunting.”

Ms Burrell said Know Your Skills was important because it impressed upon people the importance and relevance of the numerous and varied skills they picked up in their everyday activities. Many of these skills were discounted because they weren’t learned in a “proper job,” she said.

“Take baby-sitting; something a lot of young people will do at some stage. Baby-sitting involves some key skills, like being on time, planning and organising, taking responsibility, problem- solving, decision-making and helping others. These skills can be readily transferred to real world jobs and are skills employers are looking for.”

“People need to think about the skills they’ve collected throughout their lives and match them to jobs that require that skill set. At the very least people need to understand they all have unique and varied skills – even those with little or no work experience.”

Know Your Skills includes the practical story of Tane and follows him on a 10-year journey as he develops skills throughout his life. Visitors will be able to see how Tane builds on his skills from his early beginnings as a school rugby coach at the age of 16 right through to owning his own carpentry business ten years later. He also shows how he’s continued to gain new skills and applied them in different ways throughout his career.

Ms Burrell said work would continue on the development of more online tools like Know Your Skills to further assist people as they consider their career options.

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