John Blaize Aguinaldo, 18 years old at that time, stepped into Malabon National High School, eager to learn about the World of Work. Little did he know that only after three days, he would walk away with a career opportunity waiting for him at the Public Employment Service Office (PESO).

Blaize is among the hundreds of students from Grades 8, 11, and 12 who participated in Food for the Hungry’s (FH) Career Guidance Workshops last March through April 2023. Like his peers, this “panganay” or eldest child, fears the future because even with parents who are both teachers, their family barely gets by because of inflation and financial instability.

After all, with current unemployment rates, more youth will be competing with adults for jobs while bearing the challenges of skills mismatch and being underqualified. To address this, FH launched a series of activities to prepare the youth for what’s to come.

Working with FCGAN 

FH invited Federation of Career Guidance Advocates Network (FCGAN), Inc. President Ma. Teresa Tunguia to share her knowledge along with representatives from the Regional Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and PESO. Mock interviews were held after, where two other students from Malabon were invited to take part of the PESO’s Special Program for Employment of Students; while two students from La Paz were chosen for scholarships.

In addition to the workshops, Ms. Tunguia also facilitated two webinars on the importance of soft skills via Zoom. Soft skills such as problem-solving, adaptability, and the ability to work in teams are not usually taught in schools despite its demand in the workplace.

This training was simultaneously attended by 450 youth from Malabon, Navotas, and Bulacan with the support of FH mobilizers and volunteers, school and church partners, and FH families. But a question lingered: could more youth be reached? 

Working with Edukasyon.ph

That’s where social enterprise Edukasyon.ph (EDK) came in. In 2023,  FH collaborated with EDK to co-create “TrabaHunters Quest,” which was an online asynchronous learning platform where students can read and review featured articles and answer online quizzes. Sounds familiar? FH and EDK also hosted a livestream webinar where two industry experts answered questions and shared tips on how to improve one’s resume and ace job interviews.

As of date, TrabaHunters Quest has had more than 500 quest completers and the livestream reaching 160 schools.