CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTRES (CDC)

Career Development Centre (CDC) is a new initiative of Employment Department, envisaged as a destination where individuals can obtain authentic solutions for all kind of career issues faced by them. Kerala is the first state in India which constituted such a Centre, under the Government. It provides career guidance services as per the concept of International Labour Organization (ILO), completely free of cost. The centre has adopted latest technologies and appropriate tools in career management to address the career problems of individuals.


BACK GROUND

The Department of National Employment Service (Kerala) is constituted for the job placement activities for individuals who have registered their names in Employment Exchanges. The experience of last 60 years in the area of employment market analysis, job placement, self-employment projects, vocational guidance and rehabilitation of Differently abled etc. taught us that following issues are very important in shaping the human resources of Kerala and the department has a pivotal role in the reinvention of the existing system to address the future challenges:

1.Even now, only very small number of students and parents are in possession of adequate knowledge in career opportunities of the changing world.

  1. Majority of the talented students are selecting their career without considering their real interests and capabilities.
  2. Most of them are unaware about wide area of opportunities in the world. They are selecting programmes which are available in their limited circle.
  3. Almost all brilliant students are opting medicine and engineering.
  4. High profile students are not coming up in the areas of Basic Science, Humanities, languages and management.
  5. Number of students from Kerala who obtain admission to the Institutions of National Importance is limited. Top talented students are not attending the entrance examination of such institutions. Most of them are searching for admission to Medical or Engineering colleges. They are not aware about Gokhale Institute, IGDR, TISS, DSE, JNU, IISC etc.
  6. Students who hails from the rural areas of Kerala are totally un-aware about the career opportunities available even in Kerala.
  7. Number of candidates who are getting placement through UPSC, SSC, IBPS, RRB is limited in comparison with other states.
  8. Private career centres charge huge amount of fees from candidates and provide low quality career information.
  9. Majority of these centres are maintaining illegal relationship with private education institutions of other states..
  10. The tools used by them for Psychometric Tests are not so scientific and updated.
  11. They do not show the national interest in shaping the future of every individual. Instead they run them as profit making centres.The crux of the concept of CDC is derived from the Spirit of National Employment Service Manual (NESM) and ILOs career guidance policy. Following are the objectives of the Vocational Guidance units as per NESM.
  12. Enhancing the employability of an individual or group of individuals.
  13. To offer assistance to individuals in preparing to choose, change and adjust their occupation in life.
  14. To evaluate the strength and weakness of the individuals and match them with the job requirement.
  15. To generate awareness about the employment market.
  16. To collaborate or co-operate with other agencies in the field of career guidance and to promote self-employment.

The term Career Guidance is defined by ILO as follows: The service and activities intended to assist individuals of any age, at any point throughout their lives to make educational training and occupational choices to manage their career scope.

In the CDC, both the vocational guidance and educational guidance will be provided to all the individuals who require it. The centre will work for the students of secondary and higher secondary schools, school leavers, un-employed, under employed and people who are looking for jobs. The fundamental aim is to help individuals keep informed of the choices about the next step they would take, whether it is for further education, training or work. The centre will empower all individuals to acquire suitable placement, career enhancement and self-employment within a particular age limit. The activities of CDCs include equipping the students to obtain admission to various centres of Excellence and institutions of higher learning across the nation and abroad.

In a CDC there will be a Centre Manager, who will be an experienced Employment Officer of the Department. A psychologist with MA/MSc. in psychology will be the career counselor. A B.Tech engineer in Computer Science will be the IT Officer of the centre. There shall be a good career library and a Smart Class Room for training and career guidance classes.


Following are the important services we provided in CDC

  • Career counseling
  • Career information
  • Group guidance
  • Individual guidance
  • Psychometric tests
  • Career goal setting
  • Resume preparation
  • Pre-interview discussion
  • Start-up incubation programme
  • Career consultancy
  • Coaching classes for various competitive examinations
  • Communication and Skill Development Programme
  • Career guidance programme for educational institutions and Socio-cultural organizations.
  • Special programme for remote areas
  • Special programme for SC, ST women and Differently abled candidates
  • SMS, e-mail system for communication

PRESENT CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTRES


Sl. No. Office Address Telephone No.
1 CDC, Neyyattinkara Career Development Center, Mini Civil Station, Neyyattinkara – 695121. 0471 – 2222548
2
CDC, Palode
Career Development Center, Near KSRTC Bus Stand, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram – 695562
0472 – 2840480
3
CDC, Kayamkulam
Career Development Center, Mini Civil Station, Kayamkulam, Alappuzha – 690502
0479 – 22442502
4 CDC, Chittur Career Development Center,
Mini Civil Station, Chittur, Palakkad-678101
0492 – 3223297
5 CDC, Perambra Career Development Center,
II Floor, Mini Civil Station, Perambra, Kozhikode – 673525.
0496 – 2615500
6
CDC, Thrippunithura
Career Development Center,
Muncipal Shoping Complex, choorakkad, Tripunithura, Ernakulam-682301
0484 – 2785859
7 CDC, Kottarakkara Career Development Center,
Mini Civil Station, Kottarakkara, Kollam – 691506.
0474 – 2919612