SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Workforce Partnership is releasing a video series to help provide guidance around obtaining a quality job and launching a meaningful career in the wake of the major economic shakeup resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our Ikigai" is a series of videos designed to help San Diegans identify personalized job opportunities and encourage a holistic approach to job hunting that focuses on more than a paycheck.
Centered on the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which means "a reason for being," the concept can be a tool for individuals to use when planning their next career move, according to the Workforce Partnership. It aligns values, interests, preferences, and what they love doing with quality job opportunities.
"An estimated quarter-million San Diegans lost their jobs due to COVID-19, which is why it's imperative to create a tool like the Ikigai framework," says Peter Callstrom, CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership. "Combined with the tools available at workforce.org/mynextmove, San Diegans are now not only connected to available job opportunities but have the tools and resources to explore and secure careers that are meaningful and align with their values, needs, and preferences."
The video series focuses on:
- interest and preferences -- what you love;
- labor market information -- what you can be paid for;
- knowledge, skills, and abilities -- what employers need; and
- job quality -- what you need.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused an economic and unemployment crisis, with more than 120,000 San Diegans still unemployed. While the slow lifting of restaurant and bar restrictions has helped job availability, the unemployment rate is still more than double what it was last year and the job market is slimmer than ever before.
Interested job seekers start by taking an assessment to understand their career personality type and working style. Labor market information provided by the San Diego Workforce Partnership is then used to better understand the job opportunities that match a person's interest.
Finally, by using the platform's job quality framework, individuals can assess which job best fits their most important needs. The framework includes job necessities -- like stable scheduling and living wages -- job opportunities and job features.
