How Web-based technologies can improve the career choices of young people
Shawn de Raaf, Taylor Shek-wai Hui, and Carole Vincent
January, 2012
Click here to download the report in pdf format.
Abstract
Far too many highly educated young workers end up in jobs that require less education or fewer skills than they have. In Canada, between 20 and 30 per cent of post-secondary education (PSE) graduates work in low-skilled occupations. Why do so many graduates find themselves in a job situation that does not meet their expectations and skills? What are the best ways to help them reach their full potential on the labour market and get their career in motion?
The CareerMotion project provides reliable evidence on whether the labour market competencies of young workers could be improved by providing them with Web-based job search and career planning tools tailored to their needs. The project recruited over 500 PSE graduates residing in British Columbia who felt that they were overqualified for the work they were doing. Participants who signed up for the project were offered a 50/50 chance of receiving access to a custom-designed career development services Web site for five weeks designed to help them understand their own skills and career aspirations and linked their career objectives to relevant, high quality labour market information elsewhere on the Internet. This report is a comprehensive presentation of the impact of the CareerMotion Web-based tools on participants’ confidence and ability to make informed career decisions.
Table of Content
