"Occupation"

• a term that describes a person’s livelihood, vocation or regular source of income. Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) defines an occupation as “a collection of jobs, sufficiently similar in work performed to be grouped under a common label for classification purposes.” 

  • Occupations most often have a common set of skills, knowledge, competencies and abilities. 

  • The NOC identifies and groups occupations mainly by the work normally performed including tasks, duties and responsibilities. 

  • The NOC groupings also factor in such aspects as materials used, industrial processes and equipment, level of responsibility, work complexity and the products made, and services provided. 

  • Examples of occupations include nurses, carpenters, cashiers, gas fitters and medical laboratory technicians.

  • Note: Many people use the terms “job” and “occupation” interchangeably. Occupation is a title used to describe a broad group while a job is what people do when they work. 

"Occupational Profile"

• Provide a description, current snapshot and future projections about detailed occupational groups and help people make decisions related to future career plans. An occupational profile answers questions such as:

  •  What would work be like in this occupation? 

  • What education and credentials do I need to work in certain occupations 

  • Where would I work if I trained for this job 

  • Will there be jobs in this occupation in the future 

  • How much money will I make working in this occupation? 

"Job"

• A person's job is their role in society. A job is an activity, often regular and often performed in exchange for payment. A job encompasses all the tasks carried out by a particular worker to complete their duties. 

  • Many people have multiple jobs, such as those of parent, homemaker and employee. 

    • A person can begin a job by becoming an employee, volunteering, starting a business or becoming a parent. 

    • The duration of a job may range from an hour (in the case of odd jobs) to a lifetime. 

    • An activity that requires a person's mental or physical effort is work (as in "a day's work"). 

    • If a person is trained and holds credentials for a certain type of job, they may have a profession or trade. 

"Career"

• A career is the progress and actions taken by a person throughout a lifetime, especially those related to that person's occupation(s) and their education/training. 

  • A career is often composed of the jobs held, titles earned and work accomplished over a long period of time, rather than just referring to one position. 

  • While employees in some cultures and economies stay with one job during their career, there is a growing trend of employees changing jobs more frequently. 

  • For example, an individual's career could involve being a lawyer, although the individual could work for several different organizations and in several different areas of law over a lifetime. 

  • This trajectory is often referred to as a career pathway.  

"Career Cluster"

• A career cluster is group of occupations that share common features or a group of jobs and industries related by skills or products. If a person likes one occupation in a cluster, they will probably find other occupations in that cluster they also like. If someone lacks the academic qualifications for one occupation, they may find another more accessible occupation in the same field. 

  • Within each cluster, specific career pathways have their own knowledge and skill requirements, with related education and training programs. 

  • Examples of three different career clusters include: 

    • Health—Workers in this cluster enable people to have healthy lives. Some work directly with people, while others do not. This cluster contains jobs like home health aide, medical sonographer, pharmacy aide and medical transcriptionist. 

    • Business—Workers in this cluster help companies run smoothly. This cluster contains jobs like office clerk, receptionist, credit checker and janitor. 

    • Public Safety—Workers in this cluster protect people and enforce laws. This cluster contains jobs like security guard, court clerk, alarm installer and lifeguard. 

Submit your completed assignment in your Flex Block Google Classroom.

                                                Due - March 27th