Experience Types:
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? Informational interviews A meeting to learn about the real-life experience of someone working in a field or company that interests you.
? Classroom/Career-day speakers A speaker that is brought in to serve as an expert in their field or occupation and share content, knowledge, or experiences with students.
? Workplace/Campus tours An activity that brings students to a workplace to learn more about a company and its industry, observe employees in their normal work routines, and ask questions of employees.
? Visiting Expert/Mentors In-person meetings and conversations of field experts and mentors.
? Educator in the workplace Educator in the Workplace seeks to align and connect business and industry leaders with local school districts, the career and technical center, and the local intermediate unit. Program participants will connect both in-person and virtually with colleagues from regional school districts during the school year. Through the program, participants are provided experiences interacting directly with industry and business leaders to learn about industry trends, needs, and opportunities to enhance their classroom instruction, student learning, career readiness, and peer networking.
? Job shadowing A career exploration activity in which students gain exposure to careers that they are interested in pursuing by working with business volunteers. For a short period, up to several days, students spend the work day as a shadow to a competent worker. By visiting a workplace, investigating a career field and industry, and experiencing a typical day on the job, students can determine if the career and industry fits their interests and career aspirations.
? Internships A highly-structured, sustained career preparation work experience in which students are placed at a workplace for a defined period to participate in and observe work within a given industry. Learning objectives are specified, and student performance is assessed. Students earn academic credit, giving the student a broad overview of the career area.
? Apprenticeships A career preparation activity designed to prepare an individual for careers in the skilled crafts and trades. There are some apprenticeship programs that accept high school students between the ages of 16 and 18 to begin their apprenticeships. Apprenticeship training usually requires one to five years to complete, depending on which occupation is chosen. State and federal registered apprenticeship programs are work-based education partnerships between industry, labor, education, and government. Apprenticeship is industry-driven and provides an effective balance between paid on-the-job training and required classroom and laboratory instruction. There is a broad span of occupations from low tech to high tech in fields including medical, trades, crafts, and technology.
? Mentorships Occurs when a student is matched one-to-one with an adult professional in a chosen field of interest to explore a career, career interests, and related workplace and career development issues. The career mentor serves as a resource for the student by sharing insights and providing encouragement and guidance about the workplace, work ethics, careers, and educational requirements. The one-to-one career mentoring relationship goes beyond the formal obligations of a teaching or supervisory role.
? Career-related competitions Career-related student competitions are work-based learning activities that require students to demonstrate mastery of career-related skills through presentations or competitions that are judged by professionals.
? Participate in HS Job Fairs Fairs serve as career awareness activities that expose students to a wide range of careers and education/training opportunities.
? Cooperative Learning Experiences A structured method of instruction combining school-based classroom learning with productive work-based learning in an occupation matching the student’s academic and career objectives. At the secondary level, cooperative education involves a planned partnership with specified connecting activities and responsibilities among students, parent/guardians, schools, employers, labor organizations, and government.
? Summer Employment Opportunities Opportunity for a student to perform work for a company outside the academic year.
? Professional Development Gaining new skills through continuing education and career training after entering the workforce. It can include taking classes or workshops, attending professional or industry conferences, or earning a certificate to expand your knowledge in your chosen field.
