Youth development organisation Malcam Charitable Trust is to receive half of all proceeds raised during the launch of the online aptitude test Sort My Career.
Aptitude Institute’s Sort My Career test (www.aptitudeinstitute.com) assists in solving the problems associated with deciding what work or study options you are best suited to. It identifies a person’s aptitudes, interests and preferences, and matches the best type of job for them.
“Perhaps the single greatest reason why people don’t choose their best education and career path is that they don’t know what they’re capable of, enjoy, or are most likely to succeed at. Our research has shown that 60% of tertiary students do not complete qualification and 60% of students change their degree after first year,” Aptitude Institute Managing Director Julene McCorkindale says.
“Education and career choices are often the result of trial and error, unconscious choice such as following in the footsteps of family or reference groups, or even paralysis when the decision seems so large that it results in no action being taken at all.”
Aptitude Institute’s researchers developed a specific aptitude test for use online and used mapping logarithms to link test responses to job types, drawn from the largest database of its kind, the US Department of Labour O*Net database with 8000 job titles.
“We’ve piloted Sort My Career with more than 1300 people from schools, polytechnics, government departments and not-for-profit youth development agencies. We know it helps people to think laterally about where their skills and interests could take them, and we know that the information is valuable to organisations,” Mrs McCorkindale says.
During the pilot phase, the youth development organisation Malcam Trust had offered their students access to the Sort My Career site. The trust will receive half of all proceeds raised during the launch from January 31 to March 31.
“What the Malcam Trust is trying to do reflects our values – get stuck in and help young people find solutions. So we decided they were a great fit for benefiting from the launch of Sort My Career. Of course the test helps not only young people but everyone wanting to consider work, training or education options.”
Malcam Trust founder Malcolm Cameron was impressed by the Sort My Career reports.
“Those students who had identified areas of interest gained in confidence from the validation that they had the right aptitude to pursue a career in their chosen field. Those students who did not have any idea were pleased to have something that they could refer to while looking into future career options.
“Recently, we have also chosen to offer this test to three past students who have been undecided which career path to take. In all three instances, the young person has been able to clearly identify the best career pathway for themselves based on the feedback report they received and have followed this through to further tertiary training and study.”
The Malcam Trust was set up to provide youth development and transition-to-work programmes, annually working with around 300 adults and 500 young people on its various training and development programmes. More than 80% of the participants go in to full-time employment, or further education and training.
Mr Cameron has been involved in launching or supporting the establishment of more than 60 programmes and services in Otago and further afield – including the Youth Service Corps, Conservation Corps, Logan Park Services Academy, The Princes Trust, 4 Trades, SuperGrans, and the Bargain Barn.
One of his more high-profile funding initiatives is the annual Cadbury Jaffa Race which takes place during Dunedin’s Chocolate Carnival. The money raised goes to support the Malcam Trust programmes, and other chosen local charities.
22 May 2011
land and building package said:
Awesome, that there is a double benefit for youth, an aptitude test to help a career you are suited to and money going to help youth. brilliant.