Taking the Guesswork Out of Choosing a Career

How do I prepare kids for jobs that don’t exist?  According to the States’ Career Clusters website (http://www.careerclusters.org/) technological advances and global competition have transformed the nature of work.  Tomorrow's jobs will require more knowledge, better skills, and more flexible workers than ever before.  Tomorrow's workers must be prepared to change jobs and careers several times and continually update their knowledge and skills.

To prepare today's students for tomorrow’s workforce, schools are working to help students increase their achievement in challenging subjects.  Another key approach is to provide students with relevant contexts for learning.

Career clusters identify pathways from secondary school to certificate programs, two- and four-year colleges, and graduate school and then to successful entry into their chosen careers.  Exploring career clusters enables students to relate what they learn in school to importance in the future.  This connection to future goals motivates students to work harder and enroll in more rigorous courses.

Identifying a career cluster that aligns with a student’s work personality is a very sound way to begin the process of making career decisions.  It also allows students to prepare for a variety of careers within a cluster and “climb” their personalized career ladders.  As new jobs emerge they will already have the foundational skills needed for entry, which will facilitate their ability to transfer to these new jobs.