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Career guidance is an important subject for more than 9 out of 10 young people but it causes stress for 69% of them - according to the study "Young people and guidance" conducted with Jexplore and Opinion Way  

While young people use a variety of resources to find out about their career path (websites on jobs and training, information brochures, social networks and streaming platforms dedicated to career guidance, internship search platforms, exchange platforms and immersive experiences in companies with virtual reality), 54% nevertheless regret their career choices. How can we provide better support for young people in their career choices?  

Career guidance for young people: a real challenge

Young people are now being asked to take responsibility for planning and controlling their own careers before they even start their studies or work. However, the accelerated digitalization of today's world and its environmental issues place them in front of three challenges: 

• Dealing with the obsolescence of skills: To counter the obsolescence of skills, it is necessary to help young people to value their soft skills, which are more durable over time, rather than their hard skills that can become obsolete after a few years (on average after 2.5 years) or even be replaced by technology, AI (Artificial Intelligence). 
• Preparing for today's uncertain world of work: Helping to guide young people in world of transformation and uncertainty. Some economic experts now see that we have moved from a VUCA framework (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) to BANI (Brittle, Anxiety-provoking, Non-linear and Incomprehensible) world.  
• Finding a job that interests and motivates them: Help young people identify the skills they need to do a job they are passionate about, in which they can fully develop and develop their skills. 

Which Career For Me: Student, an online career planning support method for young people aged 16 to 25 

The Which Career For Me: Student program, designed by Yves Duron and Zwi Segal, perfectly meets these challenges, and is fully in line with the needs of Generation Z who want to take charge of their own career and find meaning in the professional world. To achieve this, it requires a better knowledge of oneself and one's motivations.  

Aimed at guidance counsellors, coaches and career professionals (in school, college or university), Which Career For Me: Student allows them to help young people aged 16 to 25 to learn more about themselves and make the right career choices.

A valuable help in reflection 

Which Career For Me: Student helps young people with three areas of career planning: 

• Discover their professional interests, key motivations and strengths (soft skills). 
• Understand the job market and explore the types of trades and sectors of activity. 
• Validate their ideal job and find the right training.  

5 additional questionnaires measure:  

• Professional interests (among 8 fields and 40 professional sub-fields adapted to current professions) 
• The key drivers of motivation according to the job, work activities, colleagues, the direct manager, the company and in life in general 
• Strengths 
• Mindset 
• Skills of the future.   

They thus provide information on the sources of motivation and demotivation of the young people supported their professional interests, strengths and mindset. The result is a list of jobs and business styles that are in line with the motivational profile of the young person. Professions corresponding to their profile, based on a database of 2,000 professions codified on motivational criteria updated daily and including emerging professions as well, while accompanying videos explain each result. Young people also have access to online and collaborative exercises to help them in their thinking.

A useful programme for youth guidance professionals 

Many professionals who have already used Which Career For Me: Student to help young people build and validate their professional project, testify to its usefulness.  

Nathalie Cavagna - Occupational Psychologist, Consultant at APEC (French Association for the Employment of Executives) and founder of Nathalie Cavagna Conseil highlights an important point by stressing that "most of the young people I see do not know where to go and know more how to express 'what they don't want' than 'what they want'. Often, they only have a vague idea of direction, they may think of a training course rather than of a "profession". Which Career For Me: Student is particularly relevant in addressing this issue due to its approach based on interests, motivations and skills.”  

Thibaut Delacour - Independent Practitioner and Founder of facilitandi adds that "Which Career For Me: Student allows each young person supported to focus on what interests and what motivates them. It helps them to project themselves concretely, this is supported by a database of professions and resources that are directly accessible.”  

Marc Heim - Trainer, ESCCI (Ecole Supérieure de la CCI Portes de Normandie) adds by saying that "Which Career For Me: Student allows us to offer a support framework and offers answers and concrete steps with the help of the summary report, which is well presented and accessible to all."  

Finally, for Thierry Dupont - Certified Coach and Management Consultant, Professionalization and Partnership Ecosystems, IAAC, "Which Career For Me: Student has the advantage of being able to provide à la carte support, both on a collective and individual basis". 

In 2020, the World Economic Forum estimated that one out of every two workers in the world would need re-skilling (training to acquire new skills needed to change jobs) over the following five years. According to projections from the Future of Jobs Report, companies will need to incorporate new job roles into their organizations in the same time frame: e.g., data analysts and data scientists, AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning specialists, business development professionals, etc. In all, ten mostly new professions will represent a workplace demand estimated at nearly one hundred million people.

New technical skills, backed up by essential soft skills 

These staggering figures illustrate the scale of the challenge that is now facing all business sectors and companies of all sizes. In order to keep a competitive advantage, and to survive the emergence of new players, they have no choice but to adapt and transform in order to remain agile. 

The pandemic has added to this, accelerating the transformations already taking place, particularly in the digital space. More than ever, the question arises as to the need to adapt technical (hard) skills and improve behavioral (soft) skills to maintain employees’ employability. 

Such an approach is even more important given that employees are also voicing that expectation. According to the Great Insights 2022 study conducted by the Great Place To Work Institute, employability is one of their primary concerns.

Nearly one in two employees state that they will need to upgrade their skills and/or pivot job role in the next five years, but almost a third of them do not feel that they have benefited from specific career development support over the past year. 

Five ways hiring manages can help to create a culture of employability

The study also reveals that training and development programs are becoming one of the defining criteria when choosing to work for a potential employer. With this in mind, here are five ways you can create a culture of employability at your organization:

1. Future Proof your Talent Pools

The best talent pipelines are those that are nurtured. Building a talent pool takes time and requires a well-orchestrated strategy which focuses on the long-term aims of the business, as well as the immediate needs. Cultivating conversations with potential candidates for roles that may not yet be fully formed enables hiring managers to be future focused. This coupled with insight from team managers across the business as to what values, skills and personality will be the best fit for the team, can help hiring managers to make informed decisions to attract top talent.

2. Move to Skills-Based Hiring

Avoid restricting your candidate pool by only focusing on qualifications. Adopting a skills-based approach to hiring opens your talent pool, giving you a wider reach and the ability to attract candidates outside of your usual recruitment network. In the US, “LinkedIn has seen a 21% increase in job postings advertising skills and responsibilities instead of qualifications”. This strategic approach can result in a more varied and multi-skilled workforce, and even help to improve retention rates.

3. Use Psychometric Insight

Psychometric assessments supply detailed, data-driven insight into the values, personality, skills and potential of candidates. There are two forms of psychometric tools - personality and aptitude tests - which together can provide a comprehensive overview of a candidate. With tools such as Role Assessment, a custom employment assessment can be created to meet your roles’ requirements, and its results generate a fit-to-role score that aids in your decision making.

4. Evaluate Talent Retention Strategies

From quiet quitting to quiet thriving, today’s employees are making their feelings on employability known. Gen Z’s priorities are focused on a work-life balance where active steps in creating a culture of wellbeing and inclusion are sought after. Today’s candidates want organizations who echo their values and aren’t afraid to speak up or move on if they don’t align. Take time to review your company brand and values. How do you present yourself? Are you actively living your values? How are you working to upskill and retrain your teams?

5. A shared culture of upskilling and reskilling

The future-of-work challenge cannot be met solely by improvisation. The whole organization, from employees through to top management, needs to subscribe to a culture of “employability” so that each person takes ownership. Executive management sets the course and shares a strategic direction and its implications for the development of job roles. Line management then implements that strategy by identifying development areas for its teams and by working with employees to determine their own employability.

Employability must be embraced across business units to future-proof organizations. Priorities have evolved, technology has marched forward, and organizations can no longer afford to wait and see what skills gaps will develop in the future. Taking steps to reflect on your organization’s employability approach can help future-proof your talent pipeline and address the growing skills gap. For more information on employability, download our whitepaper - “How to Put Employability at the Heart of Corporate Strategy.”