Career Development is a Concept

January 21, 2026 | Kirby Krause

Definition

Career development is a concept, not a separate curriculum. It is something that can be embedded into all subject areas - and likely already is! Career development is a lifelong process focused on managing learning, work, leisure, and transitions in ways that move individuals toward their preferred future (Source).

This matters because career development is not about choosing a job. It is about how people make meaning of their experiences, especially as they grow, change, and respond to their circumstances. What someone needs changes over time, so career development is not a one-time decision that you check off and move on from.

When we treat career development as a concept, we shift from asking "What job are you choosing?" to "What are you learning about yourself, and how does this connect to what comes next?" This can help students respond to the changes they will inevitably face in and outside of the classroom.

The Career Development Model

The career development model outlines five components that can guide how we engage students, regardless of the subject area. These components are:

• Know Yourself (self-awareness)

• Explore Options (including pathways, education options, opportunities, occupations)

• Make Plans (goal setting)

• Take Action (build skills and gain experience)

• Manage Your Career (reflect on program and adjust plans to keep learning and growing)

These are not steps to complete in order, or outcomes to measure once. These components outline considerations that can be revisited repeatedly within everyday learning experiences. This is why the Career Development Model works across curricula - it does not replace content, it helps students understand why the content matters to them. If we treat this model as a spiral, these are components that they can deepen their understanding of each time they are touched upon.

Career Development in the Classroom

You likely are already having conversations with students about why they are learning certain concepts in your classroom. This conversation is an example of career development.

When a student asks, “Why do we need to know this?” they are trying to understand relevance, purpose, and future connection.

Responding to that question through a career development lens might look like:

• Naming occupations that use this concept in their work

• Naming the skills being developed, not just the task being completed

• Connecting learning to broader pathways they might consider after high school

• Encouraging reflection on interests, strengths, or challenges that surfaced during the activity

In order to embed career development into your course, no new lesson is required - the concept is embedded in the conversation.

Why Framing Matters

When career development is positioned as a standalone program, it becomes easy to postpone or outsource. When it is understood as a concept, it becomes part of how we teach, question, and reflect. It becomes part of our practice.

This raises an important challenge. If career development is already present in classrooms, the real question is not "Where does it fit?" but "How intentionally are we naming it?" This distinction determines whether students experience learning as disconnected tasks or as part of a developing sense of self and future.

Accidental to Intentional

Career development is already happening in classrooms. Every time an educator connects learning to skills, asks students to reflect, or invites them to think beyond the immediate task, they are supporting career development whether they name it or not. All of this matters and deserves recognition.

However, presence alone is not the same as intention. When career development remains implicit, students who already know how to navigate systems tend to benefit the most. Others may complete the same work without ever understanding what it reveals about them or how it connects to future choices.

Embedding career development as a concept is not about adding more to an already full plate. It is about being clearer, more deliberate, and more equitable in how we frame learning. The work is not to start doing something new. The work is to name what is already there and use it on purpose.

Moving the Needle Forward

Becoming more intentional with career development does not require new courses, new units, or new expertise. It requires different questions, asked more consistently.

Some practical next steps include:

• Name the skills, not just the content
  When introducing or debriefing learning, explicitly identify the skills students are using or developing. Help them see that what they are practicing extends beyond the classroom. Consider connecting this to the Global Competencies outlined in Manitoba’s Framework for Learning. You might also explore the Government of Canada's Skills for Success.

• Make reflection routine, not occasional
  Build in brief moments for students to consider what they learned about themselves, what felt challenging, or what surprised them. Reflection does not need to be long to be meaningful.

• Connect learning to pathways, not predictions
  Avoid framing activities as preparation for specific jobs. Instead, highlight how skills and experiences open doors to multiple possibilities, including ones students may not yet know exist.

• Revisit questions over time
  Career development deepens when students return to ideas about interests, strengths, and goals more than once. What changes over time is often more important than what stays the same.

• Say the quiet part out loud
  If learning is meant to build confidence, adaptability, or problem-solving, name it. Students benefit when the purpose of learning is explicit rather than assumed.

None of these steps add more content. They change how existing learning is framed and experienced, which is where the real shift happens.