The multitude of degree options being offered by colleges and universities can mean exciting employment opportunities to today’s Filipino youth. But more than just offering the best classes and curricula, education systems and learning institutions must also effectively guide and prepare its students in pursuing their chosen career amidst challenges of career-job mismatch and staggering unemployment rates in the country.

According to The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), unemployment remains a prevalent issue among Filipinos in the country, with some 2 million in the labor force still unemployed. Though this figure is the lowest since 2005, 27.9 percent of the unemployed and underemployed are college graduates.

For STI Education Services Group, Inc. (STIESG), addressing issues in job-mismatch or unemployment among college graduates can be done by aiding students on their career choices through integration of a career plan within the school curriculum.

“As early as Senior High School, we are maximizing every opportunity to ensure that incoming students are enrolling in their preferred program course that matches their skills and interests,” said STI VP for Academics Aisa Q. Hipolito.

To achieve this, STI leverages on its holistic approach to education and on the application of its innovative, student-oriented tools, and programs to guide college and senior high students in making informed decisions in regard to their educational and professional paths.

One recent application is the STI SCOPE or Student’s Career Opportunity and Personality Evaluator. The unique computerized program guides students in choosing what course to take in college by showing them possible career options based on the results. The program assesses the student’s personality type and then matches it to career opportunities, which are aligned to specific college programs or senior high school tracks and specializations.

“By showing the different academic programs that best suits a student’s personality type, and the possible career choices they can pursue along with it, we make the decision easier for even the most unsure and indecisive of students,” said Hipolito.

To complement the SCOPE Program, STI also offers its STI Career Camp to Grade 10 and 12 students. The free workshop gives incoming SHS and college students the opportunity to explore their possible career options through different hands-on modules such as the Entrepreneurs Camp, Bakers Camp, Mobile Photography Camp, and Game Developers Camp.

These modern methods being employed by STI, coupled by the school’s industry-driven curriculum and unique employment-oriented framework, industry linkages, and various academic and non-academic programs, are able to create and holistically develop job-ready graduates.

The STI SCOPE and STI Career Camp won gold and silver respectively at the 55th Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, a premier award-giving body that recognizes the best communication campaigns in the Philippines.

For a free and comprehensive report of one’s personality, the SCOPE test can be taken at any nearby STI Campus, or through the STI SCOPE app available on the Google Play Store.

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