Career Readiness
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Seeing Yourself in the Future
Career Readiness Program
In today’s competitive job market, the concept of work readiness has gained importance. A skills gap persists between what the employers seek, and the skills new graduates possess. The gap in workforce readiness is costly for employers, who must invest additional resources to bridge it. Programs like WVU Extension’s Seeing Yourself in the Future are making a significant impact by introducing career exploration and skill development at an earlier age.
The program, Seeing Yourself in the Future, is a middle/high school career readiness program that introduces students to a series of career exploration topics aimed at helping them make more informed decisions about post-secondary options. The eight-lesson series delivered over nine sessions encourages students to imagine their futures as they explore education and career options.
The nine-session program includes the following lessons:
- Seeing Yourself in the Future - Self exploration and career exploration / two-part lesson
- En-"Vision"-ing the Future - Goal setting and vision boards
- Unlocking Job Opportunities - Soft Skills are the Key - Soft skills development
- Watch Your Step in Social Media Platforms - Social media effects on professional future
- Make Your Job Application Stand Out - How to fill out a job application
- Create a Winning Resume - How to create a resume
- Dress for Success - Appropriate interview attire
- Nail that Job Interview - Professional pitch and common interview questions
Program Goals
The goal is to increase student understanding of career exploration, goal setting, and the importance of soft/power skills. Additional lessons introduce students to the importance of professionalism, how social media affects their professional future, how to fill out a job application and create a resume. Students also learn and practice common interview questions and how to dress for an interview.
Who
Seeing Yourself in the Future is an engaging career readiness curriculum for middle/high school students that encourages them to imagine their future through career exploration, soft skill development, and hands-on practice and application. This program equips teens with skills employers want and empowers them to make informed decisions about their future – allowing long-term individual and community prosperity.
The Seeing Yourself in the Future Career Readiness Program is available to educators who have completed a two-hour training on program implementation. It is available to middle and high school teachers/counselors Extension educators, and after-school program providers. The curriculum is also being utilized in partnership with the West Virginia Statewide Afterschool Network in efforts to bridge the gap between in school and out-of-school time programs that provide career and college readiness resources and opportunities.
In addition to providing skills that will valuably serve the participants in the future, this curriculum successfully fulfills many of West Virginia’s College and Career Readiness Standards for Student Success for Grades 6-8 and 9-12. This curriculum also fulfills many of the American School Counselor Associations National Standards.
Findings
The program has been disseminated widely through multiple state and national level peer-reviewed seminars at professional conferences. To date more than 350 educators in 31 states and 36 West Virginia counties have been trained to implement the program. Pilot evaluation data from 968 middle school students shows statistically significant outcomes in all areas measured including:
- Career Exploration (p < .001)
- Soft Skills Development (p < .001)
- The Importance of a Positive Image on Social Media and its Impact on Future Employment (p < .001)
- Interview Self-Efficacy (Job Application, Dress for Success, Create a Resume) (p < .001)
- Finding Resources to Choose Post-High School Education (p < .001)
- Set and Manage Goals (p < .001)
- Speak Comfortably in Front of a Group (p < .001)
Career Exploration in Elementary School
With the popularity of the middle/high school career readiness program, WVU Extension faculty are working on introductory lessons for younger students in grades K-5. These lessons are available to pilot upon request. More than 300 K-5 students have been introduced to careers through these interactive lessons.
Self-Guided Career Exploration
A 4-H project book of the same name, Seeing Yourself in the Future, has been piloted by 72 middle/high school students in West Virginia and four other states. This career readiness 4-H project book contains eight sections which aim to build career readiness skills by challenging young people to identify and explore career paths, set goals, practice soft skills, understand social media impact, fill out job applications, create resumes, and practice interview skills.
Additional Information
For information about training and access to the Seeing Yourself in the Future Career Readiness Program, contact Jodi Smith at jodi.smith@mail.wvu.edu.
Seeing Yourself in the Future - Workbook
Seeing Yourself in the Future - Score Sheet