NEWS RELEASE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT 25 JULY 2013

Career Guidance Week debuts nationwide

With a toque on the head and an apron on the waist, 15 year-old Jay Kevin Dalumpines disguised himself as a chef this one morning of his senior high school life. I have always wanted to be a chef. Simula pa noong bata pa ako, gustong-gusto ko na magluto, lalo na kapag nakikita ko ang mama ko sa kusina, Dalumpines said, adding that, in the near future, he dreams of working in a five-star restaurant abroad. Earl Jann Vladimir Legaspi, 16, showed up in school wearing a hard cap with a blueprint paper in his hand. This candidate for class valedictorian wishes to be a civil engineer. Noong bata po ako, gusto ko talagang maging piloto. Ngayon, gusto ko n a pong maging civil engineer. Naging influence ko po yung mga pinsan ko at yung mga kaibigan ng daddy ko, Legaspi shared, saying that he is determined to hurdle the University of the Philippines College Assessment Test (UPCAT). As a senior high school student in one of the prime state schools in the country, Legaspi thanked his school for teaching and guiding him well. Magagaling po ang mga teachers ko; mas madami po kaming time para makapag-usap ukol sa aming plano sa kinabukasan. Dalumpines and Legaspi are only two of the hundreds of senior high school students of various schools in the CALABARZON region, who participated at the launch of the

Career Guidance Week at the Tagaytay City National Science High School on 22 July 2013. The observance of Career Guidance Week is part of the Career Guidance Advocacy Program (CGAP), a convergent program spearheaded by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction (HDPR) Cluster. The CGAP seeks to address the job-skills mismatch problem. Its implementation is led by the Department of Education (DepED), in collaboration with the CGAP-Working Groupcomposed of the DOLE, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Citing DepEds Department Order No. 25, s. 2013, which declares the observance of the Career Guidance Week, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda DimapilisBaldoz said the direction of ones career path can be strengthened in the presence of career advocacy program that defines various jobs which are considered marketable. The observance of Career Guidance Week in all high schools starting this year is envisioned to prevent too much waste of resources in producing graduates in the tertiary level, as well as in technical vocational level, who could not meet the qualification standards of the labor market, she added. While launched in Tagaytay City, the DepEd reported that at least 7,000 public secondary schools nationwide are currently conducting the Career Guidance Week.

High school students from Grade 7 to 12 are required to participate, accompanied by their parents or guardians, members of the academe, and other stakeholders. From here on, the event shall be held every last week of July of every academic year. For the first day of the Career Guidance Week, the TCNSHS held a career fiesta parade followed by opening ceremonies and orientation of the five-day career assessment journey. Structured Learning Experiences on Hollands Party Game as facilitated by Dr. Carmen Pabiton, honorary member of the PRC Board of Guidance Counselors, and Formulating Ones Mission Statement presided by Sherly Gayola, TCNSHS Education Program Supervisor, were among the activities included on the second day. The third day of the week-long event focused on Career Talks. The following are the topics discussed: LMI Tends in the Region (Key Employment Generators, In-demand and Hard-to-Fill Occupations), by DOLE; Priority Courses and Scholarships, by CHED; Science and Technology Career and Scholarship, by DOST; 46 Professional Regulatory Boards and Professions, by PRC; Technical-Vocational Courses, by TESDA; and Industry Organizations, by Association of Hotels and RestaurantsTagaytay and Cavite Economic Zone-Industrial Relations Division. Career Ambassadors will be introduced on the third day. Famous Chef Boy Logro, as Culinary Ambassador, is the lone revealed personality in the roster of representatives. At the end of the weeklong event, the students shall have acquired information on the following: (1) discovering ones strengths and developing awareness; (2) the

qualification standards for all types of career jobs; and (3) making informed decisions on a career choice. These will be ascertained with processing of learning and conclusion on the fifth day. The government is steadfast in addressing job-skills mismatch. Through this observance, we expect hundreds of thousands of students trooping to colleges and universities in the next school year to already have a fair idea of the labor market that will gear them up towards right career choices, Baldoz added. 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. Towards this end, the labor and employment chief said she anticipates sustained positive action from the government and its tripartite partners, saying that by working together, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development can be fast achieved. With the right knowledge about the labor market, we make our studentsour future workforcearmed and ready. The efforts of DOLE in addressing jobs and skills mismatch is in-line with President Benigno S. Aquino IIIs 22-point labor and employment agenda, whose overarching goal is to invest in the countrys human resource to make them more competitive and employable. For more information, please call the DepEds Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) through the Curriculum Development Division (CDD) at telephone nos. (02) 632-7746 and (02) 635-9822.

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