Career Awareness is usually the first step in learning about the local career opportunities and can include:

• Workplace Tours

• Guest Speakers

• Career Fairs

• Community Involvement (community service activities by a school group)

• Career Interest Assessment (7th-9th Grade)

Career Exploration is a great next step in actually learning more about a specific career of job field, and may include:

• Extended Learning (a Career and Technical Student Organization--or--CTSO; summer employment approved by the school/teacher and employer; career focused summer camp)

• Job Shadowing (hands on experience with the job with minimal time commitments--but can lead to a pre-apprenticeship or full apprenticeship)

• Structured Field Trips (usually done as a class or CTSO group and representative of the worksite or industry)

• Career Guidance System (Naviance or Montana Career Information System)

• Dual Credit Classes (classes where students earn college credit and high school credit at the same time)

Career Preparation can be one of the most exciting aspects of Work-Based Learning as students have a basic idea of their interests and want to go further in exploring these career interests. This can be a great opportunity for students to "test out" a career, get a head start with a career, and even begin to develop positive work habits that will benefit them in any career or college path.

• Internships (these could include paid or unpaid internships with any number of local businesses in our area)

• Service Learning (community involvement that is integrated with specific learning objectives and is more and more an emphasis for college admissions)

• School-Based Enterprises (examples include working with the Hawk's Nest, DECCA, )

• Supported Employment (this is specifically for IDEA/504 Students; please contact cale.vanvelkinburgh@bsd7.org for more information on Supported Employment)

• Dual Credit Classes (classes where students earn college credit and high school credit at the same time)

• Early College (classes that students take related to a specific career interest and offered at the university level, and sometimes at a reduced cost)

Career Training includes options that may start in high school and continue beyond high school graduation and may even include post-secondary programs of study.

• Earning Industry Recognized Credentials (IRC) (These can often be earned in specific high school courses in conjunction with work-based placements, or at the post high school level through the employer or college course)

• Pre-Apprenticeship (Pre-apprenticeship offers a more flexible time commitment than an apprenticeship, and is usually a part of a student's planned career pathway. Pre-apprenticeships can be paid positions through the employer, and can give the pre-apprentice a head start on career choice for full time employment and/or advancement.

• Registered Apprenticeship (Students can start apprenticeships as early as the age of 16 according to MT State Law. These are most often paid positions and get students well on their way in a career field)