This text is part of the special section Professions and careers
The Minister of Employment, Kateri Champagne Jourdain, recently highlighted the “plenty of options” available to young people in a job market marked by a labor shortage. But it is crucial to support them in an orientation process which can generate a lot of anxiety.
“Young people will occupy more than half of available jobs over the next decade. It is therefore all the more important to highlight professions that offer interesting prospects and that correspond to their profile,” declared the Minister of Employment and Minister responsible for the Côte-Nord region, Kateri Champagne Jourdain. , as part of the new campaign “A passion, a host of options”, aimed at promoting careers of the future among young people aged 14 to 24.
Three areas of activity have been identified as strategic for the future of the Quebec economy: engineering, information technologies and construction. As part of “Operation workforce”, the ministry also put online a questionnaire inspired by the RIASEC profile, developed by psychologist and sociologist John L. Holland, in order to help young people find the profession that suits them best, based on their personality and interests.
A changing job market
“In general, tests represent a good tool for increasing self-knowledge. But orientation is a much more complex process,” underlines Caroline Dufour, guidance counselor and vice-president of the board of directors of the Order of Guidance Counselors of Quebec (OCCOQ). “We must also be careful with the notion of passion in the job search. Not everyone will be passionate about their job. And just because you don’t have a passion doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily have a boring job. »
Faced with the numerous gateways giving access to professional life, it is not always easy to make an informed choice. “There is always a lot of anxiety as the 1er March, with middle school students who must register at university, the end of fifth secondary school who want to register at CEGEP,” notes Mme From the oven. “The job market is undergoing rapid transformation, particularly under the influence of artificial intelligence, which is making choices more complex. Younger people sometimes even find themselves thinking about careers that don’t yet exist. »
A quest for identity
In this context, parents have more than ever a role to play in supporting their children in their career path. The OCCOQ has just published new video clips specifically highlighting the importance of this parental involvement. “Young people may have difficulty recognizing themselves and seeing themselves in the mirror. And the role of parents is essential to encourage their children to develop better self-knowledge, by helping them identify their strengths and interests,” specifies Caroline Dufour.
To meet this not always obvious challenge that presents itself to them, parents in Quebec have a valuable wealth of information with Espace parents, launched in 2018 and revamped in 2021. Intended to facilitate understanding of the difficulties their young people may be facing. faced in their studies and career choices, this site provides numerous tools and advice to avoid, among other things, getting lost in the twists and turns of orientation and falling into certain traps.
Learning experiences
Some people can discourage their children and slow them down, by questioning their choices, instead of trying to understand their reasons and motivations. “It’s a fairly common error,” confirms M.me From the oven. “We also see some who pass on their parental stress to their children, by constantly asking them if they have made their choice. » In their learning journey, young people above all need to be reassured, so as not to let too much anxiety set in, often reinforced by the fear of taking the wrong path.
In reality, the perfect choice doesn’t really exist. And sometimes you have to grope, or make mistakes, to move forward. The choices made at CEGEP are above all learning experiences rather than final decisions. “The role of the guidance counselor is to remind us that we do not make a choice for life,” insists M.me Dufour, who is also the mother of a 14-year-old girl in a period of indecision. “You really have to take it one step at a time. The young adult is in a period of transition and search for identity. You have to let him mature and live his experiences. »
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