BRIAN MOONEY'S ADVICE CENTRE: Coming to terms with the reality of unemployment can be a painful experience. For anyone who has invested time and energy in their education, losing your job or being unable to secure one after you have completed your second- or third-level education is devastating.

So, how can you make yourself more attractive to employers?

You need, in the first instance, to be a good manager of your own career. You also need the skills, knowledge and attitudes to make the right career moves in this very negative employment market. These can be developed and strengthened over time.

In the current economic environment, where thousands of highly educated people are prepared to consider low-paid jobs, you need to communicate effectively with potential employers, whether in writing through a CV or face to face, if you are to successfully enter or re-enter the employment market.

Here are some things you can do:

– Rebuild and maintain positive self-belief.

– Interact effectively with potential employers and support services.

– Accept that change is a constant in life. Unless you continue to enhance your skills and educational standards, you will never enjoy security of employment.

– Understand the various educational and training options open to you. The most comprehensive source of information is at www.qualifax.ie

– Access the best up-to-date information on the opportunities available in the Irish economy at www.careersportal.ie

To achieve the above objectives you will need support from members from a range of services including job facilitators in offices of the Department of Family and Social Affairs, the career advisory services of Fás, the local employment services located throughout the State, the adult education guidance services available through every VEC, guidance counsellors in schools and colleges of further education, careers officers in institutes of technology and universities and adult education providers.

By identifying the correct services and supports, relevant to your own particular circumstances, you can learn how best to:

– Secure or create and maintain work, even in these very difficult times.

– Make the correct decisions regarding the educational and training opportunities currently available to you

– Learn to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

These career management skills are relevant to us all, whether in employment, education or seeking employment.

So what’s the most important lesson we can all take from the current world economic crisis?

Maybe it’s that we can’t afford to take the sustainability of our employment for granted. We all need to upskill and retrain constantly.

In times of adversity, we must all become stronger.

TALK BACK...

We measure a society’s health by how it treats vulnerable or minority groups. During these times of severe cutbacks, we must be careful not to further marginalise these groups. But, we must also ensure that funds provided by the taxpayer are used in the most effective manner.

ON SPECIAL NEEDS

We have made great progress from a standing start. Today, there are 19,000 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) – equivalent to 12,000 full-time posts in our schools. The expertise of the SNAs in schools is a valuable resource which we must maintain and protect.

But, it is appropriate under current circumstances to review how the service is delivered for example would a school- or district- based service provide better value and a better service than the current system whereby SNAs are allocated to particular children.

ON THE IRISH LANGUAGE

It is right all interested parties should be able to access reports and other material from State bodies in Irish. But it is a scandalous waste of resources for all agencies to be obliged to print copies of documents in Irish which are rarely used.

ON PROTESTANT SCHOOLS

The Church of Ireland has been vocal in condemning the loss of some financial supports. What they fail to mention is that many of the children attending Protestant schools are from Catholic families. How can the Protestant fee-paying schools defend seeking State subventions for Catholic students when Catholic fee-paying schools receive no such support? We must protect all minority groups, but in the most cost-effective manner.

Brian Mooney is a guidance counsellor at Oatlands College, Dublin