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Work Based Learning Program Overview
Work Based Learning Program Overview
Career Awareness, Exploration, Planning and Preparation, and Experiences
Career Awareness, Exploration, Planning and Preparation, and Experiences
City Schools' work-based learning team works to achieve City Schools' career readiness vision by being the conduit between school, families, industry, and postsecondary partners to build career readiness programs and experiences that ensure all students, upon graduation, are career ready. Career-ready by graduation means:
● Student has completed a career readiness toolkit (postsecondary plan, resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letter, and budget)
● Student meets and can demonstrate 21st Century Job Readiness skills
● Student has experienced an internship, job shadowing, apprenticeship, and/or employment tied to career plan(s)
● Student has earned job-related certifications
Defining Work Based Learning Activities
Defining Work Based Learning Activities
Apprenticeships help connect education to industry for students by shaping ideas about careers while building lifelong transferable skills.
A career day or career fair is a school based activity in which business partners from a variety of companies come together at a school to share information about their workplace, their job, and the education and skills that are required for success in their career.
A company tour is an activity in which students visit a workplace, learn about the business, meet employees, ask questions, and observe work in progress.
A guest speaker activity allows students to listen to a presentation to learn about the speaker’s career, business or organization and industry, and then ask questions which will help them consider whether they might like to pursue a career in the industry.
Industry sponsored projects provide a group problem-based learning project relating to a student’s career area of interest.
Internships are work-based learning activities in which students participate in and observe work first hand.
Internships provide students the opportunity to learn by doing real work and being productively engaged in the workplace. They may provide the opportunity to work in teams, work on a project, or rotate through a number of departments and job functions.
Job shadowing is an activity in which a student is paired with and observes the workday of a business partner, interacts with the partner's clients or customers, and attends meetings and other appointments with the person they are shadowing.
Informational interviews allow students to talk with an employer partner about an industry, educational and career path, and chosen profession. Students may also explore the range of career opportunities within the company or industry, opportunities for growth, and the salary ranges.
Resumes are an important career toolkit for any pathway. Working with industry and community partners, students get to build and revise their resumes in preparation for a career experience.
Planning activities around 9th grade choice are focussed on exposing 9th grade students to opportunities and pathways that best fit their interests.
Why Work Based Learning?
Why Work Based Learning?
The work-based learning plan embraces all stakeholders: students, families, schools, and industry and community partners to ensure each student, K-12, receives a progressive continuum of work-based learning activities and experiences. The aim is that these experiences are integrated into the curriculum and school day, as career integration is the key to truly building career readiness competencies – which results in a student graduating from City Schools, career ready, prepared to succeed in their postsecondary journey.
Evidence Based Practices
Evidence Based Practices
Work Based Learning provides tangible connections between classroom instruction and content to the world of work. These connections have proven to make school more relevant for youth, build positive relationships between youth and adults that support career awareness and readiness, assist youth in building social professional connections, and allow youth the opportunities to gain on-the-job work experiences in new and diverse environments.
Program Partners
Program Partners
Everfi
Everfi
EVERFI delivers digital resources that help teachers equip students with critical life skills. Teachers and students can access the EverFi portal through Clever.
JA Finance Park
JA Finance Park
JA Finance Park is Junior Achievement’s capstone program for personal financial planning and career exploration. At the culmination of this teacher-led program, students visit JA Finance Park, a realistic on-site or virtual community, to put into practice what they've learned by developing and committing to a personal budget. (Grades 7-10)
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