New service to aid potential school leavers to make life choices

THE Government of Gibraltar has announced the implementation of a Careers and Employment Development Service by the Ministry of Business and Employment in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. This new service will be available to young persons between the ages of 14 to 19 years in the form of workshops, one-to-one tuition, and school and college visits.

The Department of Education has a teacher in each of the secondary schools who offers career advice and the new service will work closely with these teachers to provide the best possible advice to students.

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’s 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.

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 so there will be workshops on CV writing and cover letters,  interview skills, the importance of body language, time keeping, presentation and relaxation techniques to aid before and during interviews.

The Minister for Education, the Hon. Gilbert Licudi QC MP, 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, the Hon. Neil F Costa MP, 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.”