Helping Students Choose Careers
Parents, Educators, & Employers
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What Can Parents Do? |
· Talk with your children about their interests, abilities, and talents.
· Make sure your children go to school every day, on time, with a good attitude . . . as they will need to do on a job.
· Give your children responsibility for jobs around the house.
· Find out what your children are learning in school.
· Encourage your children to participate in service-oriented activities in the community.
· Talk about how your children’s interests can be applied to careers that they might enjoy.
· Explore with your children as many of these careers as possible.
· Look at postsecondary education and training options with your children.
· Talk about your own job and career in a positive manner.
· Encourage your children’s school district to offer Career Pathways.
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What is the Role of Educators? |
· Help students see the connection between the skills and knowledge they are developing in school and future careers by using real-world examples in instruction.
· Implement Career Pathways.
· Help students discover their talents, strengths, and career interests.
· Collaborate with local businesses to provide work-based experiences, such as tours, mentoring, and job shadowing.
· Develop class projects where students research and learn about different careers.
· Help students understand the need for advanced skills and education for future work.
· Involve business people in curriculum design to make courses more relevant to the world of work.
· Implement the Michigan Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling Program*.
· Have students develop an Education Development Plan (EDP)**, beginning in middle school.
· Offer instruction in workplace readiness, such as teamwork and problem solving.
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How Can Employers Help? |
· Collaborate with educators to develop an integrated curriculum based on academic standards and real-work experiences.
· Offer schools and students as many work-based learning opportunities as possible, such as tours, mentoring, job shadowing, and non-paid work experiences.
· Serve on a school improvement team.
· When interviewing young people, ask to see their school portfolio, attendance record, and transcript.
· Visit a school as a speaker or mock interviewer.
· Be a partner with a school by donating equipment and sharing training.
· Serve on a committee to evaluate curricula.
· Offer School-to-Registered Apprenticeships***.
· Offer teacher/counselor internships.
· Recruit other businesses to work closely with schools.
Tips Found at: www.michigan.gov/mdcd/1,1607,7-122-1678-5972--,00.html