The answer is, there is a skills gap that is threatening the sustainability of our local businesses not only here in Tonga but also around the world.  And this is where TYEE  identified the need for our youth  school-leavers.  That there is a need for our youth to be well supported and prepared by bridging that much needed gap so they can make their transition from school, and out of school to work and be counted in the workforce.

Having recently expanded our TYEE services to provide a Full Recruitment Service; TYEE RECRUITMENT, and at it's core, the skills gap is an education issue on top of our very own culturally driven mind-set and attitude towards our youth, society, life, work, business and money in general.

TYEE Work Readiness with Basic Life skills Training Program is designed for you as youth which is an important sector that makes up 32% of the total population in Tonga. Youth are in the heart of our society today. Youth are not adults yet, they are not kids anymore and they are asking us for support and opportunities.  Every youth needs a champion so they can grow, lead and prosper.  Every young woman and man in Tonga deserves that opportunity.

​This program is directly in support of driving one of TYEE's core objectives; to build the confidence and capacity of youth to embark on their journey to make a life they aspire to live through appropriate and relevant connections to work readiness-life skills training opportunities, employment, entrepreneurship and mentorship support;

​Twenty Youth Trainees per training cycle were selected to participate in our second training cycle from 19th-29th September 2016.  This is made possible for TYEE with the kind assistance of the Tonga Business Enterprise Centre through the NZAID Programme. 

​TYEE would like to CONGRATULATE all our Trainees from the September 2016 intake. They  have successfully made it to the end of the program today.  "The program of the training course was an eye opener, very interesting and a breakthrough for me", -ATupou, Trainee.

To the Trainees; "your 100% effort, commitment and investment in yourselves within the past two weeks go to show the true spirit of our young Tongans.  Be the best you can ever become and remember;  to be yourself,  do not give up, and dreams don't work until you do". - Lusia Latu, Trainer.

​Acknowledging Sela Bloomfield (representative of TYEE Board), Doreen Lemoto, GP Tonga and to the TBEC Manager and Team for their support.  Last but not the least to the staff of TYEE Office.​

It does not seem like long ago since you put on that cap and gown and threw your mortar board in the air; and that's because it wasn't.  Whether you are High School, Tertiary or University Graduates the rules of the game for jobseekers and graduates are the same, unless if looking for work is not an option for you.  It's been a long, hot summer, but now it's time to settle down and suss out what is next on your career horizon.  So where do you begin?  Here are our four top suggestions to get you started.

So, you have come this far.  Some of you are still undecided whether to look for a job, whether you have the ability to start your own business, or like most graduates - stay home and have a two-four years holiday! The choice is yours.  But when you first place your foot on the career ladder, it’s important to have a vision of not only what you want to do, but what you have to offer.  In order to sell yourself, you have to know exactly what you’re able to provide a company with.  Starting out on your job search this way will give you a valuable perspective – tackling it from the eye of a recruiter, rather than just considering how a job will benefit you.  Keeping this in mind when you write cover letters and applications will help you to present yourself as the missing piece that will fit in their puzzle.

You’re a graduate now therefore you need a professional graduate CV. What is a professional graduate CV, you ask? It needs to highlight both your academic achievements and your experience. Alongside stating your degree and its classification, include the names of any modules you took which will help you in a professional scenario of the job you are looking for. It helps employers a great deal if you can give your degree some context, as it will enable them to envisage you in a specific role. When including your experience, put the most relevant first, such as any placements or voluntary roles you’ve completed. After this, include other roles you’ve had that may be less relevant.  At TYEE Career Centre we provide services for Jobseekers and Graduates tailor to fit each individual's circumstance.  Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will open unto you. For more details you can check it out on this link: http://www.tyeetonga.org/career-centre.html

​It starts within You, and how well you know yourself. A big part of promoting and selling yourself, especially as a graduate, is about building your personal brand. This will always depend heavily on the type of industry you are looking to work in. If it’s corporate, everything you present must be smart, sleek and professional. This has to ring true from your CV down to your LinkedIn profile and others. If you’re looking for a creative role, a more casual profile often suits, as long as it’s still sensible.  Also be aware of your social media profiles: their content, how visible they are and how they may portray you to a recruiter. Remember, some recruiters would ‘pre-judge’ you from what they’ve heard from others, or seen on social media and public places rather then getting to know you as a real person first. So, start acting your age and pull up your socks if you want people to take you seriously.

Exposing Yourself? ​Not like that.  As a jobseeker and a graduate, you need to make yourself and your CV as easy to find as possible. Maximise all opportunities by creating a well-maintained LinkedIn profile, running a professional Twitter account and providing your CV on various jobs that you see fit. The more exposure you obtain the better. It’s a good idea to regularly update your CV rather than just doing it once.  For jobs and assistance with your job application you can always check-in with TYEE.

Jobseekers, let's get the good news rolling for you.  In this day and age there are a countless of different ways to find a job. The success of one method over another is hard to measure as so many factors (industry, job type, location, etc) can affect a job search.  So let's take a look at our guide to finding a job to see which approach suits you best.

Yay, you've found us, that's good enough to start with.  A job board is either a physical or electronic locations on which job opportunities are posted. You may have heard of about two, three, or none of them but there are a few job boards here online and out there if you look hard enough.  With the ability to refine your job search by industry, job title, salary, location and more, a job board search can be a great way of finding vacancies that are directly related to you.  Unfortunately, for jobseekers some hiring managers use just one job board to advertise their vacancies.  Assuming the same results will crop up on a different job board means you could be missing out. To combat this, use a job board which could help you search across several companies all at once such as radios,  newspapers, websites, online media such as Matangitonga Online, social media such as facebook and TYEE JOB BOARD on here.  

We know this method is still very new to a lot of our Tongan people.  Hey, don't let that haunt you to nowhere!  Signing up to a recruitment agent is a good way of finding a job. TYEE can support this method as we are right here in the industry and we have proven it to work with over 120 new employees being hired in the last year 2015 alone from us to fill variety of positions across industries in Tonga.  The good news there is less effort on your part in terms of searching for roles.  There is also the potential to be put forward for unadvertised vacancies and some companies will go straight to an agent like us rather than advertising for candidates themselves.  However, it is important to realise that some of the control has been taken out of your hands, with recruiters deciding which vacancies they will put you forward for.  If signing up to an agency try searching for the jobs that are specific to your industry to save you from being contacted about jobs that are irrelevant to your requirements.  If you are not sure of what to do, check in to TYEE RECRUITMENT for a friendly chat. We are here to help.

We are in the tech savvy day and age and if you are not on LinkedIn yet, you are really missing out.  There are lots of recruiters who use it to find candidates and companies will often post their vacancies in the hope of finding someone without using the expense of costly media advertisement. The more you fill out your profile in details the more suggestions LinkedIn will send you when companies are using their site to recruit staff.  Furthermore connecting with relevant people in your industry helps you to network with professionals who might be interested in hiring or recommending you for a role. All in all it pays to be on there, so get involved!

Job seekers listen up, don't be shy.  Speculative applications have the potential to be hugely successful way of finding a new role. Some companies don't publicly advertise their vacancies, so there are jobs out there that we simply cannot find.  Sending a CV and a cover letter to a company you would like to work for can lead to a few potential outcomes; the worst being that the company does not process your CV.  However they might keep it on file and hopefully they would contact you when a job vacancy arises.  In some cases, if they like you too much they may try and find a job vacancy just for you.  So, don't underestimate this method of speculative application and make yourself stand out. No matter which method works for you, taking the initiative to apply for a job in a company that you like proves that you are keen to work for that company and it gives a good impression of you as a candidate.  Make a difference today.