I don’t know about you guys, but I didn’t have much career guidance when I was at school. One of my teachers asked me what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up’ (I was 17 at the time) and I told her that I wanted to pursue a career in acting. She then snorted at me and told me to pick a real job because there was not a chance in hell that I’d get anywhere with unrealistic dreams. As you can imagine, I was overjoyed with the high level of support that was being offered to me by my awesome teachers. We didn’t have any form of career guidance at my school, except for being told that we had 2 months to apply to different universities so we had better hurry up and make a decision on what we want to do. It was all a bit of a rush, and the only information that was given to us what a big book with all the courses listed in it, and explanations of what the course involved. There was nothing to help us decide what we would be best suited to, and no information explaining what each career path entailed.

Most (if not all) of you would have heard about CML TV. If not, wake up and smell the coffee – We’re kind of a big deal!

If you’re in Cayman at the moment, chances are you’ve also heard about CML TV’s Career Guidance initiative. It’s been in the news; it’s been on our Facebook page and guess what!? You’re now reading a blog about it (don’t you just love the power of social media!?).

We have partnered with the Ministry of Education, Training and Employment and the Cayman Islands Society for Human Resources Professionals (CISHRP) to produce this series, aimed primarily at local students who are in their final stages of high school and are at that crossroad in life where they need to decide what career they would like to pursue. Although the series is aimed at these students, it could also benefit the wider community as well.

We are producing these videos to help educate viewers about different opportunities available in Cayman, and to provide constructive advice on how to secure employment in each profession, including academic pre-requisites and scholarship opportunities. In addition to this, we will be able to demonstrate different paths that can be taken in each profession to achieve long-term career goals.

ICCI and UCCI have also agreed to be a part of the initiative, by providing information on different courses that are available and relevant to each career path.

Local audiences will be able to relate with the people in the videos as each video will feature Caymanians who are working in each career path. There will be a “day in the life” segment, shadowing a young Caymanian in the profession to show what a normal day in the office would be. Interviews will be shown with people at different stages in their careers so that viewers can gain a realistic idea of the work that is involved and the level of dedication required.

Local companies also have the opportunity to become involved in this project by sponsoring career paths relevant to them. Through HD video, we have the opportunity to show students all the positives to working in each of our fields. We can introduce them to companies and people that they could potentially work for in the future.

These videos will be 5 – 15 minutes long (depending on subject matter), and will be a fast and effective way of sharing information about each career path whilst keeping viewers engaged.

By working together, we can all help students become better informed of their options and help guide them towards making the best decision for them.

These videos will be available on the CML TV website, as well as the websites of the Ministry and the CISHRP. For further information, please contact me at a.lecornu@cmlor.com.