As we keep looking ahead, it’s clear the pandemic has significantly impacted everyone, young people in particular.
From mass school disruption to the burnout of studying and learning from home to the impact on exams – not to mention not getting to hang out with your mates.
It’s tough! And it might feel tougher yet to even begin thinking about careers and career planning.
It might seem like a fruitless endeavour, but now is an even more important time to tap into the amazing digital resources at your fingertips and keep a focus on your future pathway.
How COVID-19 is Affecting Schools & Students
Every level of education has been impacted, including high schools and universities. Reports find that students in transitions, either into higher education or full-time education into work, have struggled the most. According to reports from UNESCO, over 100 million additional young people will fall below the minimum proficiency level in reading due to the pandemic.
While the economy has experienced massive disruptions, it’s not all doom and gloom. Some sectors have experienced growth through the pandemic. New opportunities are opening up, such as within digital careers, healthcare and logistics.
Reports are already citing that the biggest in-demand skills post-pandemic will be:
- Resilience
- Adaptability
- Agility
The good news? After surviving through more than a year of the biggest global disruption you’re likely to face in your lifetime, you can safely tick all three of those skills and get them on your resume!
Why Career Planning is Vital
Having one ultimate career goal in mind is excellent, but if the pandemic has taught us anything, being adaptable will be a must.
We’re big advocates for having a Plan A and a Plan B (maybe even a Plan C!) up your sleeve when you begin career planning.
Effective career planning allows you to do that. Essentially, career planning involves spending time reflecting on the following:
- Your key skills
- Your personal strengths
- Your passions and interests
And then translating them across different career industries to see where they might be a good fit. From there, you can begin to look at the nitty-gritty:
- Qualifications required
- Entry pathways (vocational, tertiary or apprenticeships)
- Experience required
- Industry growth in the next five years
Once you have all this information, you can pick the top two or three career industries that you’re most interested in. We’d recommend ranking them in preference, but you don’t have to do that if you don’t feel you have enough information to decide just yet. Knowing the core areas, you’d like to learn more about matters.
In a post-pandemic world, you’ll want to ensure you know how specific industries have been impacted and what that means for jobs. For example, we know that hospitality and tourism have been hit the hardest, but these are key industries that will likely see ongoing recovery in the future.
Career planning in this way can help you feel back in control of your future. It doesn’t have to be concrete, and you can change things up as you learn more, and your ideas change, but some form of pathway planning can help you stay on track and find the right people and resources to keep you moving forward.
Get Access to the Resources You Need
Surveys with students have indicated that they want – and need – easy access to key information to help them make informed decisions about their next career steps during these unprecedented times.
Explore Careers has always been at the forefront of offering up-to-date, accessible information for young people no matter what stage you’re at in these decisions, and we’ll keep striving to do more.
Digital resources are vital for successful career education during these times, which is why you can get free access on our site to:
- Our Career Quiz: The ultimate starting point for your career planning! This quiz won’t take up too much of your time but will quickly highlight the key industries that match you and your personal strengths and skills.
- Industry Profiles: Once you know the industries that are a good match for you, you’ll want to dive deep into learning more about them! Our brand-new industry profiles are just the place to start. You’ll find key job roles, expected salaries, qualifications required, entry pathways and more!
- Employer Profiles: Start matching the industries you’re interested in with the biggest employers in each sector, and you’ll be well on your way! You can access key employer profiles, entry pathways, and jobs in our employer section!
- Blogs and Resources: Start putting it all together with our expert guidance on the essential things young people want to know about to get started. From writing a resume, acing the interview and understanding your career journey. You can find the right advice for you right here.
At Explore Careers, we’re with you every step of the way, and over the next year, we’ll be listening and learning what YOU need to find success in a post-pandemic world.
Need a resource or information about careers you can’t find on our website? Let us know, and we’ll get on it for you. We’re all in this together.
