What is work-based learning?
Work-based learning (WBL) is an intentional experience designed in tandem with workforce representatives to expand the boundaries of the classroom and prepare students for future career opportunities. WBL experiences should be structured in a continuum that begins as early as kindergarten and continues through postsecondary education.
Below you will learn about the different stages of career development within a work-based learning continuum.
Jubilee CTE Student Experience Tracker
Use this tracker to document all career development activities.
2024-2025 CTE Student Experience Tracker
The Career Development Process
Student career development is a process managed by school counselors and deployed by a team of school personnel that begins in kindergarten and is exemplified by students who are knowledgeable about the world of work, can explore career options, and relate their interests, personal skills, natural talents, and abilities to future career decisions.
All CTE courses are designed to be part of the career development process.
Stage 1: Career Awareness
Career development starts in elementary school with Career Awareness. This is the stage where students learn of work to build awareness of the variety of careers available and the role of postsecondary education.
Stage 2: Career Exploration
Next is the Career Exploration stage where students learn about work and explore career and postsecondary options for the purpose of motivating students and to inform their decision-making processes in middle school and beyond.
Stage 3: Career Preparation
Next is the Career Preparation stage where students learn through work by applying learning through practical experience that develops the knowledge and skills necessary for success in careers and postsecondary education.
Stage 4: Career Training
The final stage is Career Training where students learn for work by training for employment and/or postsecondary education in a specific range of occupations.
Stage 1: Career Awareness
Even before starting school, children begin formulating attitudes towards work and possible careers based on interactions with family and friends. They also will have begun developing specific interests and abilities.
In school, students learn about the world of work, assess their interests and skills, and discover a wide range of career options they may not have known existed. Teachers can invite guest speakers to the classroom or schools may hold career fairs to help students develop career awareness. Students can also learn about career clusters and programs of study offered in Texas schools.
Stage 2: Career Exploration
The second st age of career development is career exploration. As students begin to narrow career interests within a career pathway, they can explore these careers more in depth. In this stage, students gain more understanding of the careers and what it takes to be successful in them.
During the career exploration stage, students may interview professionals in careers they are interested in as part of class projects or visit companies to learn more about different opportunities. Students may also view videos to learn more about their fields of interest and what those careers entail. They may also participate in job shadowing or mentoring opportunities.
The Career Exploration stage is where students learn about work and explore career and postsecondary options for the purpose of motivating students and to inform their decision-making processes in middle school and beyond.
Job Shadowing
Job shadowing is where a student follows a worker throughout the day—like a shadow.
By observing the worker in their work environment, the student can gain a better understa nding of the job and career path.
Job shadows are usually for a couple hours or up to a couple days. The student is not paid and does not perform any work during the experience. To be an effective learning experience, the person the student is shadowing must be a competent worker who models the characteristics of a good employee.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a one-on-one relationship between an experienced professional and a less experienced person or a student. In this relationship, the mentor guides the mentee (or protégé) with the goal of helping the mentee create a path to or reach professional goals.
The mentoring relationship usually lasts for an extended period of time which could range from several months to several years.
Stage 3: Career Preparation
Career preparation is the stage in which students gain the knowledge and skills for their career pathway. In this third stage of career development, they get hands-on experience, often participating in work-based learning (WBL) and other on-the-job training (OJT) opportunities.
OJT refers to any type of training that takes place at a worksite while the trainee is performing the actual job under the supervision of an experienced worker. In the career preparation stage, many opportunities include components of OJT, giving the students substantial experience to pursue their career pathway after graduation.
Practicum
A practicum is generally defined as an advanced level course, often in a specialized field of study, where the student has an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills he or she is learning in class to a WBL experience. The work experience can be either paid or unpaid. In Texas public schools, a practicum course is a capstone experience for high school students participating in a coherent sequence of CTE courses.
Student-Led Agencies
In a student-led agency model, students create an organization that provides a product and/or service to local businesses in exchange for experiential learning opportunities. This model provides students a chance to engage in meaningful, authentic, work-based learning experiences. Student teams work with business clients to deliver services and/or products tailored to the client's objectives. These teams are student led. It is up to the students to determine how to assign roles and responsibilities and manage deadlines.
Student-led agencies provide students an opportunity to take ownership of their learning. This model fosters the development of problem-solving, critical thinking, and the ability to work in teams.
Internships
An internship is temporary job position that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and OJT in a professional setting. Internships can be paid or unpaid and could last from several weeks to several months. Some WBL experiences can be internships if the classroom instruction is linked to the work experience.
Internships usually involve three parties, each with a different interest in the relationship.
Student worker: The goal of the student intern is to gain valuable experience and make professional connections in his or her chosen field.
Educational Institution: The educational institution can help set guidelines for the internship to ensure the student gets the most out of the experience. In helping organize internships, the school can better prepare its students for their career paths.
Employer: The employer gets the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent. This is an excellent way for an employer to spot talent to hire into a full time permanent position.
Work-Based Learning (WBL)
WBL experiences are part of the career preparation stage. This is where students gain hands-on experience in an authentic workplace.
A written arrangement between the school and an employer outlines expectations and supervision requirements for both parties.
The student may attend school and work on alternating days or attend school for a half day, then proceed to work. Schools and employers work with the student to determine the best schedule for the student’s success.
Community Service / Volunteer Work
Another method of career preparation is community service and volunteer work. Students can gain valuable experience, explore career opportunities, and gain skills directly related to their career path by volunteering with non-profit or government organizations.
Stage 4: Career Training
Career training is the stage in which students learn through work. By training for employment and/or postsecondary education in a specific range of occupations, students graduating from high school begin to seek specialized career training opportunities.
Community colleges, technical schools, universities, on the job training programs, unions, and others provide instruction and relevant career training activities for these high school graduates to prepare them for specific occupations.
Students in postsecondary settings can earn certificates, industry-based certifications, and degrees based on the requirements of the occupation they seek.
Registered Apprenticeship
Registered apprenticeships enable students to earn wages while learning advanced skills that lead to high-wage, high-demand career opportunities in many industries from construction and manufacturing to energy and health care.
Upon completing a registered apprenticeship, the apprentice earns an industry-issued, nationally recognized credential that validates their proficiency.
Pre-Apprenticeship
Pre-apprenticeships services and programs are designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in registered apprenticeships programs. The programs must partner with a registered apprenticeship program and provide both couple classroom training with industry experience.
Since registered apprenticeship programs are post-secondary educational experiences, high school students who wish to pursue this path to a desired occupation can participate in pre-apprenticeship programs.
