What is Career Exploration?
Career exploration is “the exploration of the environment and the self with the aim of gathering career-related information.” It is a vital step in the career development process that students often first encounter as they begin to plan for life after high school. Although students need to engage in career exploration to make informed decisions regarding their post-secondary path, career exploration is not limited to this time of life. Instead, it is a continual process that individuals participate in as they progress through life.
Sometimes career exploration arises from necessity, as with students nearing graduation who must choose between different post-secondary education programs or when adults experience restructuring and subsequent job loss. Other times career exploration results from an internal desire to seek new opportunities. Whatever the case, it is becoming increasingly relevant for students to learn how to engage in career exploration since research shows that, on average, people now have five to seven careers in their lifetime. Career exploration is the key to equipping students not only for post-secondary success but for life-long professional adaptability.
Career Exploration is a cyclical, reflective, hands-on, trial and error process.
The career exploration process requires research and experimentation by the individual. This is the time for students to take an inventory of what they know about themselves and to begin looking for potential careers that interest them. But beyond just researching, they also need to explore through hands-on experiences in the classroom or through work and volunteer opportunities. Even investing in their hobbies is a valuable part of the exploration process. Like any good scientist, once students have completed their experiment, they need to reflect and draw their conclusions. Did they actually like the kind of work they completed? Is the career they were exploring compatible with their interests, skills, and values? Depending on how they answer these questions and others, they will either research new career options or they will research the next steps as they draw up a plan.
Why is Career Exploration Important for Students?
Career exploration is important for students because it helps them set informed goals and motivates them to achieve those goals. Let’s take a look at how career exploration accomplishes this.
1. Career exploration exposes students to the myriad of career pathways that exist.
Did you know that the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) includes 867 detailed occupations? Or that Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) lists approximately 30,000 different job titles? That said, neither the SOC nor the NOC “attempt to provide an exhaustive list of job titles.” Instead, these lists aim “to cover the most commonly used and universally understood labels that identify work” in their respective labor markets. In other words, a list of 30,000 occupations does not cover all the jobs that exist in a single country. Given the tremendous number of job titles and opportunities, it is impossible for students to be aware of all their options without dedicating time and attention to career exploration.
Discover how ChatterHigh personalizes career exploration for students.
2. Career exploration introduces students to labor market realities.
Exposing students to the plethora of occupations within the labor market is a vital piece of career exploration. However, to help youth make informed career choices, it’s important to also teach them about a couple of fundamental economic principles: supply and demand. Of course, the economy is ever-evolving as technology continues to transform how people work and what kinds of jobs exist. So it’s impossible to tell your students exactly what the job market will look like by the time they are ready to enter the workforce. It’s possible that the jobs your students will one day have don’t exist yet. It’s also possible the jobs they’re dreaming of will change. However, by introducing them to trends in the economy and relevant labor market information, you can help your students gain insight into what areas of study will prepare them for tomorrow’s economy.
Check out “NOC, SOC, and Roll: How ChatterHigh Connects Students to Labor Market Information.”
3. Career exploration helps students make informed decisions and plans for their future.
According to Sareena Hopkins, Executive Director at Canadian Career Development Foundation, an informed decision is based on self-awareness and opportunity awareness. So, to make an informed decision, students must learn about themselves and the different options available to them. And this is precisely where career exploration comes into play. Career exploration is the vehicle for building opportunity awareness. Active career exploration does more than simply list a number of post-secondary pathways available to students. Instead, it allows students to discover the skills, knowledge, and values involved in different jobs. Through exploring occupations, students gain relevant knowledge concerning job responsibilities, work environment, training requirements, remuneration, and more. As a result, they are equipped to make informed decisions.
ChatterHigh fills an important gap in supporting opportunity awareness. It exposes individuals to a wide range of post-secondary options, industry sectors and occupations. This is vital for anyone, but particularly critical for young people who may have had limited access to social capital and limited exposure to the range of possibilities that exist in post-secondary and labor market systems.
- Sareena Hopkins, Executive Director, Canadian Career Development Foundation
4. Career exploration helps students evaluate career pathways according to their values, skills, and interests.
Since career exploration involves exploring the environment and the self, it requires students to reflect on themselves and the variety of job opportunities they’ve discovered. Since this exploration is not simply a mental exercise but requires hands-on experience, students will be able to test their hypotheses. That is, students can try out their career of choice through job shadowing, work or volunteer experience, or developing a new hobby. Then they can decide whether this career pathway is truly compatible with their values, skills, and interests. Considering the role that intrinsic motivation plays in job satisfaction, it’s important that we help students discover careers that interest them and allow them to use their skills. And career exploration is one key way we can do this.
5. Career exploration can help cultivate hope in students.
Hope can be defined as the cognitive combination of agency and pathways. In other words, hope is where “goal-directed determination” and the “planning of ways to meet goals” intersect. That’s because knowing what our goal is, believing we can achieve it, and having a plan to achieve it shows us that our goal is attainable. And that’s precisely what career exploration does for students. Not every student who dreams of travelling to the moon is going to become an astronaut, but career exploration shows them that there is a path that leads to that outcome. It may be hard. It may not be the right fit for the student. They may even discover something better for them along the way. The beauty of career exploration is that it can help students feel more confident as they begin their post-secondary education. And if they do discover their original goal isn’t right for them, they can pursue a new interest and set a different goal.
Interested in finding a way to help foster hope in your students? Check out ChatterHigh’s gamified platform that uses inquiry-based learning to expose students to a variety of career and post-secondary options. ChatterHigh’s approach has been proven to produce a wide range of positive outcomes, including making students feel more hopeful about their future. Ready to start exploring? Create your account now or book a demo.
When to Introduce Your Students to Career Exploration
It’s never too early to begin career exploration, especially when it’s engaging. In fact, to equip students to make informed decisions with minimal stress, we should begin career exploration by middle school.
Why Middle School is the Perfect Time for Students to Explore Careers
Middle school is the ideal time to introduce your students to career exploration for three main reasons. First, middle school students want to engage in career exploration. Second, middle school students benefit more from career intervention than their high school peers. Third, in high school, students are choosing courses that form their educational pathway and determine their post-secondary opportunities.
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Research shows that “middle school is the most effective time for career guidance.” Several studies from 1988 to 2017 all demonstrate that middle school students respond exceptionally well to career intervention. While career exploration is still beneficial for high school students, one study “suggests that career guidance efforts may be the most effective with younger teenage students.” |
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>> Learn more about the benefits of early career exploration <<
Because career exploration is a continual process, there are benefits to bringing it into the classroom well before high school and it should be worked into all subject areas. Research shows that higher levels of career planfulness can result in heightened school engagement. Highlighting future career relevancy can also help to answer the age-old question, “When will I ever use this stuff?!” In a world where the average worker will have five to seven different careers during their lifetime, it is valuable to practice career exploration as an ongoing activity. So let’s take a look at exactly how we can get our students engaged in this exploratory process.
How to Bring Career Exploration into the Classroom
There are a variety of ways to successfully bring career exploration into your classroom, no matter the age of your students.
"Career development is a lifelong process. At the elementary level, students are already making choices that will impact their future. It is important to expose students to these key career concepts early in their school careers. Having students reflect on their learning, choices, and who they are as individuals, students and learners will impact their social, emotional, academic, and career growth and development throughout school."
- Newfoundland and Labrador Career Development Elementary Curriculum Guide, 2017
Regardless of whether or not career education is a separate subject in your region’s curriculum, you can use some of the following ideas to bring career exploration into your classroom. These activities can be integrated into different subjects, from language arts to math, and are a great way to help engage your students.
1. Take Our Kids to Work Day
Encourage your students to participate in Take Our Kids to Work Day. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to experience a day in the life of a professional. If your school isn’t participating in this day, consider implementing it yourself. To make the most of this event, you might consider creating a reflection assignment or a presentation. Sharing what they’ve learned in front of their class not only gets students thinking, but it also gets them educating one other.
2. Guest Speakers
Consider inviting professionals into your classroom as well. Bringing in guest speakers from the field is a great way to show students the relevance of what they’re learning in your classroom, while also helping them discover and learn more about potential careers. This is an especially great way to do career exploration with elementary students.
If you want to find speakers from specific fields that interest your students, consider having your students (from Grades 6 to 12) complete the ChatterHigh Daily Quiz. As students quiz, they rate their interest in the programs of study and jobs that they encounter during the quiz. As their teacher, you can see a classwide summary of all their interests and select a speaker accordingly. (Find out more here.)
3. Brochures
Encourage your students to swing by your school’s guidance office to check out some of the brochures for different colleges and universities in your area. There are so many resources online, but a physical booklet can help guide students to the information they need.
4. Skilled Trades Competitions
Take a field trip, virtually or in-person, to a skilled trades competition. Skills Compétences Canada and WorldSkills USA both host competitions that showcase a variety of skilled trades. You can even find regional competitions closer to your school. This is a great way to introduce your students to the world of trades.
5. Career Exploration Worksheets
Take advantage of free resources such as the When I Grow Up: Career Lessons and Activities for Grades 9-12 booklet. This downloadable PDF covers skills identification and career exploration, while also including resources so your students can refine their job search and employability skills.
6. Job Fairs
Organizing a job fair at your school is a great way to introduce your students to a variety of job opportunities in one place.
7. Online Skills and Personality Assessments
There are lots of free skill and personality assessments students can explore. However, there is one assessment in particular that Grade 12 students may benefit from completing — a Plum Profile. Plum is a company that specializes in categorizing and measuring people’s recurring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours — what they call “talents.” By creating their own account and completing the assessment, students can learn about their preferences and strengths so they have a better understanding of the kinds of jobs and work environments that would suit them best.
8. Gamified Career Exploration
The ChatterHigh Daily Quiz is a great bellringer activity that allows students to regularly engage in career exploration. With the ability to earn points that can be used to win prizes or donate to charity, students are motivated to complete the research activity that will expose them to all the general areas of study and help them discover interesting occupations. As a teacher, you can even access lesson plans for your region that show you how the Daily Quiz aligns with your curriculum and how you can easily incorporate it into your classroom. To learn more about the quiz, see the section "How the ChatterHigh Career Exploration Activity Works." Or check out our blog to learn how you can get started with career exploration in your classroom in five easy steps.
Alberta has three programs focusing on career education: Career and Technology Foundations (CTF), Career and Technology Studies (CTS), and Career and Life Management (CALM).
- CTF provides the foundation for CTS and allows students in Grades 5 to 9 to explore personal interests while making connections to career opportunities, learn how to respond to challenges, and work independently and collaboratively while exploring careers and technology.
- CTS is a high school course designed to introduce students to credible occupational areas and resources that support learning experiences in career fields while allowing them to explore their abilities and interests through exploratory courses or a pathways model.
- CALM is a high school course that takes a holistic approach to student well-being while also focusing on helping students make informed decisions. In this course, students continue to plan their post-secondary path.
Click here to explore the Alberta curriculum topics.
Career education is in the B.C. curriculum from kindergarten to Grade 12. In kindergarten, students start by learning big ideas, such as the importance of collaborating and communicating effectively with others. As students progress through the grades, they explore their strengths and abilities, study the qualities of a good leader, learn about public identity, and reflect on what makes up a career path, among other things. As a result, when students reach Grade 10, they already have an understanding of their strengths and goals, as well as other factors that influence one’s career path. This provides them with a good foundation for beginning the career-specific courses: Career-Life Education (CLE) and Career-Life Connections (CLC).
CLE and CLC are designed to help students find their sense of purpose through discovering where their interests and strengths intersect with opportunities. These courses also share the following big ideas, as seen in the curriculum:
- Career-life choices are made in a recurring cycle of planning, reflecting, adapting, and deciding.
- Career-life decisions are influenced by internal and external factors, including local and global trends.
- Cultivating networks and reciprocal relationships can support and broaden career-life awareness and options.
- Finding balance between personal and work life promotes well-being.
- Lifelong learning fosters career-life opportunities.
Experiential learning is also a key part of the B.C. Career Education curriculum and is referred to as "career-life exploration." This exploration can take the form of service learning, volunteerism, employment, fieldwork, entrepreneurship, and projects.
A capstone project is required to complete CLC. For this project, students must reflect on their experiences and then present their learning journey.
Click here to access B.C.’s complete "Career Education 10-12 Guide."
Manitoba’s curriculum focuses on career education during high school, where it offers both full-credit and half-credit versions of the following elective courses within its Career Development curriculum:
- Grade 9 Career Development: Life/Work Exploration
- Grade 10 Career Development: Life/Work Planning
- Grade 11 Career Development: Life/Work Building
- Grade 12 Career Development: Life/Work Transitioning
The goal of these courses is to “provide all students with an opportunity to reflect on their interests and strengths, develop essential career competencies, link education to employment, learn about possible career opportunities, and gain expertise in the ‘real world.’”
Besides offering a course at each high school grade level, Manitoba also has three experiential learning opportunities: Credit for Employment (CFE), Community Service Student-Initiated Project (CSSIP), and Career Development Internship (CDI).
- CFE - students can earn up to 2.0 credits for paid employment
- CSSIP - students can earn up to 1.0 credits by contributing to their community through volunteerism
- CDI - students can earn up to 2.0 credits for an unpaid internship
Click here to access more resources from Manitoba's Career Development curriculum.
Career Connected Learning (CCL) is New Brunswick’s K-12 career education program. This program takes an innovative approach as it seeks to prepare students for future economic, social, and technological change by focusing on lifelong learning. Key concepts are embedded into the existing curriculum so that students continually cycle through raising awareness, understanding, and readiness as they participate in career exploration.
The following best practices are central to Career Connected Learning:
- Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Experiential Learning
- New Brunswick Global Competencies Learning
- Labour Market Information (LMI) Learning
- myBlueprint Educational Planner Tool
- Financial Wellness
While New Brunswick incorporates career education throughout primary and secondary school, the Personal Development and Career Planning 9/10 course allows students to dig deeper into career exploration by gaining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to navigate life and work. While the first half of the course focuses on personal development and human growth, the second half is all about learning, work exploration, and career-building. Students will use resources such as NBJobs.ca, Career Cruising, Volunteer Canada, and ChatterHigh to achieve learning outcomes, including:
- Discovering the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for success in various work roles
- Exploring the realities and requirements of various education, training, and work settings
- Exploring services and initiatives that support the transition from high school to work or further education
- Engaging in decision-making that is supportive of one’s life/work goals
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Career Development curriculum spans kindergarten to Grade 12 and is designed to help students engage in exploratory and experiential learning that will assist them in developing key competencies necessary for their career development.
The curriculum was shaped by The Atlantic Canada Framework for Essential Graduation Learning in Schools (1997), which emphasizes the need for students to develop transferable skills and knowledge in areas such as citizenship, communication, problem-solving, and personal development. The curriculum also has eight overarching outcomes that are divided into three strands, as seen below.
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Personal Management |
Career Exploration/Learning and Work |
Career Preparation: Life and Work Building |
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Self Awareness and Positive Interaction |
Life-long Learning |
Life/Work Roles |
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Change |
Relationship of Work to Society and the Economy |
Decision Making |
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Life/Work Information |
Independent Management of Life/Work Building |
The elementary curriculum focuses on helping students learn about themselves, the world of work, and their community so that they will be better equipped to make decisions, adapt to change, and relate to and understand the world around them. The three units are "All About Me," "Me in the World of Work," and "Me and my Community." At the elementary level, there are no career-specific courses. However, the activities within this curriculum can be easily integrated into different subject areas.
The intermediate curriculum is designed to show students that the skills and knowledge they gain through academic learning are transferable to personal and professional contexts. This curriculum consists of the following three units: "Setting the Stage," "Positive Interactions," and "Skills and Employability." Through these units, students are introduced to career development, reflect on their personal values in the context of work, and create a plan for their future. Some of the resources used within these modules include Career Cruising and Volunteer Canada.
There are two career-specific courses within the public English school system at the secondary level: Employment and Labour Studies 1106 and Career Education 2202.
- Employment and Labour Studies focuses on the technical knowledge and skills required to succeed on the job and covers topics such as labour standards, employment insurance, unions, communication in the workplace, and customer service.
- Career Education is more focused on students’ overall career development and comprises four units: "Personal Management," "Financial Literacy," "Life/Work Exploration and Employability Skills," and "Preparing for Life/Work Transitions."
To graduate from high school, students must also complete at least 30 hours of experiential career education. Some examples include job shadowing, volunteering, and contributing to community service projects.
To access all the documents from Newfoundland and Labrador’s Career Education curriculum, click here.
The Northwest Territories curriculum includes two career-centric programs: Career and Life Management (CALM) and Career and Technology Studies (CTS).
- CALM is a three-credit course that takes a holistic approach to student well-being while also focusing on helping students make informed decisions. In this program, students learn how to make informed decisions in all spheres of life. One component of the program is particularly focused on the transition from secondary school and the development of one’s portfolio.
- CTS is a course designed to introduce students to credible occupational areas and resources that support learning experiences in career fields while allowing them to explore their abilities and interests through exploratory courses or a pathways model.
Explore the Northwest Territories curriculum here.
Nova Scotia’s comprehensive Career Education Framework begins in Grade 4. The framework incorporates the following six competencies from The Atlantic Canada Framework for Essential Graduation Competencies (2015) to help students become skillful, informed, lifelong learners:
- Citizenship
- Communication
- Personal-Career Development
- Technological Fluency
- Creativity and Innovation
- Critical Thinking
The three stages of the curriculum are as follows:
- Who Am 1? (Grades 4-6)
- Investigate and Explore (Grades 7-9)
- Plan for Success (Grades 10-12)
Access the "Nova Scotia Career Education Framework: Grades 4 to 12" here.
High school students in Nova Scotia have the option to complete the Options and Opportunities (O2) Program, whose goal is to prepare students to transition successfully from high school to post-secondary education. Many of the following high school career education courses are requirements for students in this program:
- Career Development 10
- Life/Work Transitions 10
- Career Development 11
- Community-Based Learning 11
- Workplace Health and Safety 11
In addition to these courses, high school students can also participate in co-operative education. Co-op is available to students in Grades 10 through 12 and affords them experiential learning opportunities.
Click here to see the full list of high school career education courses on the province’s site.
Nunavut uses an integrative and cross-curricular approach to all learning subjects, including career education. Nunavut's curriculum and resources are organized into four strands.
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Strand |
Content Areas |
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Aulajaaqtut Aulajaaqtut, Health, Physical Education |
Physical, social, emotional and cultural wellness; goal setting; volunteerism; safety; and survival. |
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Iqqaqqaukkaringniq Career and Technology Studies, Math, Science |
Mathematics, analytical and critical thinking, solution seeking, innovation, technology, and practical arts. |
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Nunavusiutit Entrepreneurship, Inuuuqatigiit, Social Studies, Tourism |
Heritage, culture, history, geography, environmental science, civics, economics, current events, and world news. |
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Uqausiliriniq Arts, English Language Arts, French as an Additional Language, Inuktitut Language Arts |
Relationships in communication and language development; creative and artistic expression; and reflective and critical thinking. Languages studied include English, French, and Inuktitut. |
Given the integrative nature of the Nunavut curriculum, career education is not addressed in isolation. However, it is highlighted within Iqqaqqaukkaringniq.
Teachers can also make use of resources such as the Career Planning Programming, which comprises two sections and spans Grades 6 to 9.
- Grade 6, 7, 8 Aulaaruhiqut; Career Planning, Preparing for the Journey
- Grade 9 Aulaaruhiqut; Developing a Career – Program Plan – The Journey Begins
To see other curriculum resources, click here.
Ontario's comprehensive education and career/life planning program, Creating Pathways to Success, spans kindergarten to Grade 12. This curriculum is “designed to help students achieve their personal goals and become competent, successful, and contributing members of society” by leading students through a four-stage inquiry process:
- Knowing Yourself - Who am I?
- Exploring Opportunities - What are my opportunities?
- Making Decisions and Setting Goals - Who do I want to become?
- Achieving Goals and Making Transitions - What is my plan for achieving my goals?
Education and career/life planning get the most attention in high school thanks to a number of open-level courses featured within the "Guidance and Career Education" subject area.
Each course focuses on helping students develop a few key skills and areas of knowledge. While each course is unique, there are many overlapping key ideas and most courses touch on personal management, exploration of opportunities, and preparation for transitions and change, with the Grade 9 Learning Strategies 1 course focusing more on learning skills instead of preparing for change.
Students may choose to take more than one course. However, they must complete the Grade 10 Career Studies course, GLC20. (You can find a PDF of the revised and updated curriculum expectations from 2019 here.) GLC20 features three strands of expectations:
- Developing the Skills, Strategies, and Habits Needed to Succeed
- Exploring and Preparing for the World of Work
- Planning and Financial Management to Help Meet Postsecondary goals
In Grades 11 and 12, students also have the opportunity to engage in experiential learning through participating in cooperative education.
Click here to access descriptions and documents for each of the Guidance and Career Education courses on the Ontario Curriculum and Resources website.
PEI’s Grades 10 to 12 curriculum includes Career and Technical Education courses that allow students to gain general technical skills, as well as technical skills specific to the following sectors: automotive, carpentry, robotics, and welding. The curriculum also features Cooperative/Career Education that allows students to participate in experiential learning through completing a cooperative experience or by taking the Peer Helping course.
The Cooperative/Career Education curriculum focuses on helping students develop the knowledge, skills, strategies, processes, and attitudes necessary to succeed in personal and professional contexts. The cooperative course includes classroom learning that helps prepare students for their placements. Students have the opportunity to complete more than one cooperative experience during high school.
The Peer Helping course allows Grades 11 and 12 students to learn leadership skills, inclusion strategies, ethics, and more while supporting fellow students. This course also allows students to work toward developing Essential Graduation Learnings, as outlined in The Atlantic Canada Framework for Essential Graduation Learning in Schools (1997).
Career Exploration and Opportunities, or CEO401A, is designed to help students achieve the six competencies outlined by the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET 2015): citizenship, communication, personal-career development, creativity and innovation, critical thinking, and technological fluency. The course is split into the following four units:
- Career Exploration - enhance students’ understanding of today’s career landscape
- Career Building - develop students’ employability skills
- Financial Literacy - teach students about saving, investing, banking, financing and credit
- Career Planning - students demonstrate what they’ve learned throughout the course
To access the PEI Grades 10 to 12 curriculum by subject, click here.
Students from Elementary 5 through Secondary V are introduced to career education through Academic and Career Guidance Content. While this content is not a separate subject, it is integrated into subject-specific learning throughout the students’ education and focuses on helping students develop self-knowledge, knowledge of the world of school, and knowledge of the world of work. For more information, check out the infographic here.
Québec addresses career education more directly during Secondary Cycle Two. An overview of the Québec Education Program for Secondary Cycle Two shows that the program is divided into three areas:
- Cross-curricular competencies
- Broad areas of learning
- Subject areas
Career education appears twice within this framework, as Career Planning and Entrepreneurship (a broad area of learning) and as Career Development (a subject area).
Students must also choose between one of three educational paths:
- Work-Oriented Training Path
- General Education Path
- Applied General Education Path
The path a student chooses determines which Career Development courses are available to them.
The paths lead to different destinations. Students following the Work-Oriented Training Path are equipped to more easily join the workforce. They also have the opportunity to receive training in a semi-skilled trade or pre-work training. Students on either the General Education Path or the Applied General Education Path can pursue further vocational training, college-level education, or university.
Click here to read more about the Québec Education Program Secondary Cycle Two.
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education uses the Blueprint for Life/Work Designs to shape and direct the integration of career development skills and knowledge into all curricula. However, specific attention is given to career education in Grades 6 to 9, as the curriculum allots 30 hours per year in each of these grades for career education studies. The overarching goals of the Career Education curriculum are to:
- develop career management competencies through an exploration of personal change and growth
- explore the connections between learning and work pathways and their connections to the community
- engage in inquiry to construct a personal life and work plan
To access the curriculum PDF documents, click here and then select your desired grade from under the “Career Education” drop-down menu.
The Yukon follows British Columbia’s Career Education curriculum, which spans kindergarten to Grade 12. In kindergarten, students start by learning big ideas, such as the importance of collaborating and communicating effectively with others. As students progress through the grades, they explore their strengths and abilities, study the qualities of a good leader, learn about public identity, and reflect on what makes up a career path, among other things. As a result, when students reach Grade 10 they already have an understanding of their strengths and goals, as well as other factors that influence one’s career path. This provides them with a good foundation for beginning the career-specific courses: Career-Life Education (CLE) and Career-Life Connections (CLC).
CLE and CLC are designed to help students find their sense of purpose through discovering where their interests and strengths intersect with opportunities. These courses also share the following big ideas, as seen in the curriculum:
- Career-life choices are made in a recurring cycle of planning, reflecting, adapting, and deciding.
- Career-life decisions are influenced by internal and external factors, including local and global trends.
- Cultivating networks and reciprocal relationships can support and broaden career-life awareness and options.
- Finding balance between personal and work life promotes well-being.
- Lifelong learning fosters career-life opportunities.
Experiential learning is also a key part of the career education curriculum and is referred to as "career-life exploration." This exploration can take the form of service learning, volunteerism, employment, fieldwork, entrepreneurship, and projects.
A capstone project is required to complete CLC. For this project, students must reflect on their experiences and then present their learning journey.
Note: While the Yukon follows British Columbia’s curriculum, some modifications have been made to incorporate Yukon content and Yukon First Nation’s ways of knowing and doing. To learn more, click here.
How the ChatterHigh Career Exploration Activity Works
ChatterHigh offers students a divergent career exploration experience through our 10-question Daily Quiz. The powerful algorithm behind the quiz allows students to discover countless post-secondary programs and career pathways, while also offering personalization as students progress through the activity. Here’s how it works.
Book a demo to learn more about ChatterHigh career exploration activities.
Step 1
Students receive questions relating to post-secondary education and career paths, as well as health, financial literacy, and labor market resources. After reading their question, students click “Research.”
Step 2
Students are taken to the webpage containing the answer. Once they’ve found the answer, they return to the ChatterHigh site where they submit their response.
Step 3
Students complete the Interest and Awareness Survey for the question they’ve just answered.
After answering a question about a post-secondary program or a career, students receive an Interest and Awareness Survey, which is a brief, 4-question survey. The first two questions are about the organization, while the last two are about the program or job. Indicating their level of interest allows the platform to learn what kinds of questions to tailor to the students after the students have answered 100 questions. The first 100 questions are dedicated to divergent exploration so that students are exposed to all the general areas of study. After answering 100 questions, a couple of questions in each quiz are personalized to the student based on the interests they’ve previously indicated in their surveys. (To learn more about the benefits of ChatterHigh’s personalized career exploration activity, check out this blog.)
Step 4
Students review and reflect on their exploration by clicking on “Interests” at the top of their screen.
Thanks to the Interest and Awareness Survey, everything that catches a student’s attention while they quiz (that is, anything they rank as “Interesting” or “Very Interesting”) is recorded in their Interests Profile. The more they quiz, the more interests they accumulate and the more reports they unlock! There are a number of helpful reports available to students within the Interests Profile. In particular, the Top 5 Interest Report allows students to compare their top five colleges and universities, programs of study, and jobs and careers. (Click here to learn about how the Top 5 Interest Report can help your students reflect on their post-secondary options.)
Step 5
Students use the points they’ve earned from quizzing to enter prize draws or to donate to charity.
The chance to win prizes and donate to charity motivates students to engage in career exploration, particularly during a competition. (Click here to find out when our next national competition is happening.)