When the Club “adopted” the Pamantasanng Makati in the early 90s and organized an Interact Club there, one of the activities Chair Bud Melvin wove into the annual plan of activities was the career guidance program for seniors. Its objective: to help each graduating student arrive at an intelligent decision on a post-high school path best suited to his/her particular circumstances.

Every year since, experts in various fields, most of them members of RC Makati, are invited to give talks to the graduating class on admission requirements, tuition rates, available scholarship programs and prospects for employment and growth in such fields as information technology, business, law, medicine, engineering, education, the arts, and marketing, among others. Those contemplating a non-degree option are informed of the wide range of vocational courses offered by the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other vocational training institutions and the scholarship schemes they may apply for.

They are given a picture of the lay of the employment land, listing the programs identified by the Commission on Higher Education as over-subscribed and under-subscribed, naming so-called “sunshine” industries, and fields with promising job opportunities abroad. Always they are reminded to choose a field they love and are good at, as this would set them up for success rather than frustration.

Aside from the adopted high schools in Makati, the committee also held career guidance talks for seniors at the Don Teodoro Santos Institute in Mabalacat, Pampanga during the term of Dick Funk as committee chair.