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Article submitted by Mr. Keith Leatherman, WHS Principal
Preparing students for life after high school is always a priority at Wauseon Schools. This is reflected in the district vision statement, which reads “We are a community that empowers each student to discover and pursue a fulfilling future.” We assist students in various ways, endeavoring to help them identify a career path that will lead each of them to a fulfilling future. This is done through a variety of activities, events, and opportunities that students are exposed to both inside and outside of the classroom.
The Wauseon High School guidance department utilizes many resources to assist students with identifying their career path of interest. One program used is called YouScience. YouScience is an in-depth aptitude battery that can help students discover their unique strengths and connect them with colleges, careers, and phrases they can use about themselves on resumes and in job interviews. Students create accounts and have access to their accounts for ten years after creating them, so this is a tool they can use now and in the future. This account is revisited frequently as counselors support students through career and college decisions, and again to assist students in creating resumes and applying for scholarships.
Another tool that is used and presented to students is O*Net Interest Profiler. This tool is available at the following website: mynextmove.org. Not only is O*Net a valuable resource for finding a career, but it also has great resources for discovering what student interests are and how those align with potential job clusters or careers. The simple online questionnaire can provide some valuable insight into a student's strengths and potential areas of career interest. Additionally, all students take the state-sponsored ACT assessment their junior year. One component of the ACT is a student interest inventory. Students rank their interests related to real-life scenarios. They are provided with potential college majors and careers that match their responses.
For the 2024-2025 school year Wauseon High School will be offering a new course called Employability 101. The course will focus on key components for career success including identifying the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successful, as well as understanding career opportunities and their required education, training, certification, licensure and experience. It will emphasize developing a career plan aligned with interests while exploring postsecondary options. Students will also learn the role of professional organizations, networking techniques, and job search skills. They will also investigate the importance of work ethic, accountability, responsibility, problem-solving, critical-thinking skills, managing emotions, and appearance for professionalism.
Looking to the future we are planning to offer a second Employability class that will have a work placement component that is part of the course. This will give students the opportunity to have first-hand experience in a possible career field of interest. We have made a concerted effort to network and seek out interest from local employers who would have an interest in working with our students. This is ongoing and will continue as we move forward.
We will begin the 2024-2025 school year with an opportunity for students to explore various career fields. During our staggered start, students will meet with multiple employers from a variety of career fields. This will give students exposure to careers that interest them and allow them to gain more information about what is involved in pursuing that career pathway of interest. There will be approximately fifteen different employers representing many different career fields including manufacturing, health care, retail, engineering, public service, communications, construction, banking and the military. We have partnered with Ohio Means Jobs to assist with coordinating this effort.
These are some of the career development activities in which students take part. We are always looking to expand opportunities and put students in a position to be successful upon graduation. The career decision-making process can be difficult, and we put great effort into helping students self-assess, identify options, and take action to experience those options.
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