Engaging Youth in Their Careers

Abstract

This paper describes the steps in designing a career literacy project where students are active agents in their career planning. It aims to inculcate career management as a staying power strategy and to foster a commitment to vocational awareness and proactive career management for life. The project is intended for implementation in an inner-city high school that is characterized by its openness to increase awareness among young adults of the need to plan a career path and instil an overall habit of career and life management. An array of linked learning tasks following principles of career literacy learning unfold and include creating career visions, generating career goals, and designing education-career portfolios. By drawing on young adults’ interests and values, their investment in their career development, and research-informed approaches to career coaching and counselling, Iterative Project – Question, Reflect, Reassess (IP-QR²) sets the stage for a deeper exploration into how young adults can make career and or educational choices that support the successful transition to life after high school.