As labor markets become increasingly competitive and new jobs are created, career education must be a focused activity embedded throughout the school curriculum and students’ college life to prepare them enough for life after high school.
Career preparation is greatly beneficial when career exploration and education is done early, and providing classroom and school-wide career exploration opportunities promotes development students in terms of career discovery and preparation.
Career education can be integrated into any subject and:
Encourage students to become competent and self-reliant planners through the FIVE (5) strategies below .
1. Connect with the real world
For example, a math teacher might start a class on budgeting and finance by having students practice their budgeting skills, creating a budget to fund their college education, including paying bills on time.
In English classes, writing cover letters and CVs, while learning more about written communication, are also job search and interview preparation activities. Students will learn how to create different types of resumes for the jobs and careers of the future.
In drama class, why not have students practice their interview skills in mock job interviews? This would make it possible to show the differences between the good and the not so good interviews. This activity is a fun way for students to practice their interview skills in the role of an interviewer or candidate. Recording the simulations will also be a great way to get students to review the interview steps and their acting skills. Check out these instructions for mock interviews
2. Encourage skills development
Career exploration is not just a search for careers and the paths to those careers. All subjects provide the theoretical and practical knowledge that will enable students to develop the knowledge and skills to be used in life and in their chosen career.
Research, evaluation, discussion, critical thinking, decision making, communication, collaboration (team tasks/projects), time management, and meeting deadlines/deadlines are some skills students will develop . By improving their skills in these skill areas, they will be able to transfer these skills to other subjects, to other areas of their lives, and ultimately to their future careers.
3. Subject/Discipline Specific Career Exploration
Within a specific field, why not have students explore a variety of careers related to that subject/discipline?
By having students research careers in a particular discipline, students will explore a broad area of careers and gain a better understanding of how subjects relate to or are integral to certain careers. This activity can even develop the appreciation of the subject in question. They will also have a better understanding of the links between what they learn in school and the careers available to them.
4. Use the whiteboard method
The central concept of this method is to focus on a career-related topic to allow students to see the connections between the skills they are learning across all grades as well as the usefulness of those skills in their future(s). career(s).
The method requires that in each lesson, students proactively answer the question, ” WHY are we doing this?” with an answer related to career choice. The answer includes three (3) elements:
In each lesson, the teacher will write the CP, OA, and EQ on a whiteboard (or in a central location visible to all students).
Take an English teacher for example. Their job skill might be attention to detail. The student learning objective might be “I can identify and correct spelling errors in my writing.” The essential question might be, “How does proofreading and editing relate to attention to detail?”
Telling students , “Proofreading and revising your writing requires you to pay attention to detail so you can correct any grammatical, spelling, or syntax errors. Attention to detail is a skill that will help you when applying for a job with your cover letter or CV, and when you need to complete tasks at work.”
The teacher will systematically refer to CP, OA and EQ throughout the course. To encourage student self-assessment in achieving CP and OA, students should write a reflection at the end of each lesson to reflect, for example, on their progress or elaborate on the need for CP in the subject and in a career.
5. Create a subject-specific career tree
Discipline-related careers start from the trunk (to the branches). Then career paths could be an additional branch. Trees can be customized to include the skills required for a specific career or, more generally, for this career path.
For example, in a business studies course, students can create a business career tree, with administrative support as a branch in the tree since “administrative support” is one of the paths within the group. career path “Commerce”. The smaller branches could then be “receptionist”, “office clerk” and “office manager.”
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