How Do You Promote Career Readiness?

As the school counselor in my K-12 district, it is my role to provide opportunities for students that will help them make future career choices and become career ready by the time they graduate. With the support of the district administration, I am able to plan and execute activities throughout the school year.
 
Here are two of the career-ready events I organize for my ninth- through twelfth-grade students.
 
Career Day for Ninth-Grade Students
 
On Career Day, my ninth graders and I visit businesses in Sheridan, Wyo., and talk with their workers. Sheridan is the largest city close to our small high school. The students have previously completed their eighth-grade careers class and Hathaway Unit of Study and formulated their career plans. From their career plans, they submit two ideas of jobs they would like to learn more about. I review their ideas and plan the day around the majority of the interests submitted. This year we visited CraftCo Metal Services (welding and machine tooling), Sheridan County Museum (education, curator and director) and Sheridan College Culinary Institute (chef and restaurant manager). We started our day at the Education Opportunity Center learning about college requirements and finished the day at Sheridan College learning about agricultural, CTE and health care careers. Each year, the Career Day’s business options vary depending on the students’ interests and availability of employers and college personnel.
 
Job Shadow Days for 10th- through 12^th-Grade Students
 
Job Shadow Days are set up specifically to fit each student’s career interest. I use the Pre-ACT and ASVAB career interest results to help the sophomores and juniors determine their job sites. The seniors use the YouScience program to help them make their selections. Examples of job shadow experiences include the hospital (nursing, doctor, radiologist), dentist, firefighter, police, blacksmith, rancher, power line worker, EMT, diesel mechanic, welder, pilot and more. We transport the students to their job shadow location on one specific day during the school year. The seniors do their first job shadow in the fall semester; in spring, they set up their own “employer” for a second job shadow and are responsible to transport themselves to their job site. By the time our students graduate, they will have participated in four job shadows.
 

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Students complete follow-up to these activities through Google Classroom. I set up specific classes for each group and they are assigned to write a reflection about their experience. The job shadow students also have to type a professional thank you letter that is mailed to the employer. I use the Google “classrooms” to share websites about workforce, college information and possible scholarships, too.
 
Overall, these activities help meet competencies for being Career Ready set forth by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. They are also part of the ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors Career Development Domain that supplies the “standards guiding school counseling programs to help students 1) understand the connection between school and the world of work and 2) plan for and make a successful transition from school to postsecondary education and/or the world of work and from job to job across the lifespan.”
 
Our Career Day and Job Shadow Days are examples of activities that we believe help our students learn about careers in our local area. Our students gain knowledge about job skills and training needed to be a successful employee. Students can also make connections with potential employers for future jobs. Overall, these activities help our students be career-ready when they graduate from high school.
 
Loyce Ellingrod is a K-12 Counselor, WySCA board member and an officer for the Wyoming ACT Council. She can be reached at lellingrod@shr3panthers.com.