This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.
CAPE Careers Advice and
Pathways to Employment
2015-1-PL01-KA202-016802
The programme has been produced by the partnership of the CAPE project.
Introduction
In Unit 6.1 the teacher is asked to reflect on their existing practice in terms of careers guidance
and embedded CMS.
Good career guidance is critical if young people are to raise their aspirations and capitalise on
the opportunities available to them. It is also important to social mobility. If young people and
their families know more about the range of careers open to people with the right
qualifications, they will have a clearer idea of the routes to better jobs. If learners and their
parents know what pay you get for different jobs and where and how numerous the vacancies
are, they are in a better position to make informed choices about future study and training.
Consequently, they are more likely to make choices that will lift them socially. For those at risk
of ESL they are more likely to challenge stereotypical assumptions about the right job for
people like me.
Changes in technology and the labour market means that good careers guidance has never
been more important as increasing numbers of jobs require specific education and training.
This has produced new vocational options which, at present, are not well understood by many
young people or their teachers.
In Unit 6.1 teachers are asked what their understanding of CMS is and how they see their role
in preparing young people for the world of work.
The first exercise is a self reflection that seeks to help teachers identify their knowledge,
perceptions, attitudes and skills in relation to careers guidance and embedded CMS. Teachers
are asked to reflect on their teaching methods, which will identify existing good practice and
gaps in methodology. The questionnaire aims to raise awareness of teaching methodologies
that support good careers education and change or improve classroom practice where need
be.
The 2nd exercise is a group exercise for teachers to conduct within their own organisation.
Ideally this would be conducted as a whole organisation exercise which would include l
leaders, teachers, counsellors and careers coordinators. Each group will identify the existing
provision of careers education in their organisation using the CAPE project Curriculum
Framework as guide to compare their activity. At the end of the exercise the participants will
be able to identify their own good practice but also the gaps in their provision. The aim is to
raise awareness at all levels in the organisation (leadership and practitioners) of the need for
a whole organisation strategy and plan for embedded careers education.
Worksheet 1
What is Careers Education? How is it delivered?
Why?
If yes how?
If No why not?
Introduction
The labour market is ever-changing, and it is impossible for even the best-informed careers
specialist let alone the regular classroom teacher to have all the facts at their fingertips. In
the past, education organisations have tried to meet this need by a combination of a well-
stocked careers library and encounters with employers; however nowadays the internet
presents new challenges and great opportunities for accessing resources.
The Gatsby Foundation Report Good Careers Guidance identifies 2 elements to such
guidance (push and pull factors) Push factors are identified as class-based activities such
as good information and careers education, personal guidance tailored to individual needs
and inspiring teaching that gives learners the right qualifications. The pull factors are
identified as those that come from employers who show learners what the workplace is like
and inspire them with the opportunities of work, such as direct experience of the workplace
and meeting employers and employees in person. Education organisations should have a
Careers Education plan, owned by the organisation and known to teachers, learners, parents
and employers, showing how the push and pull factors work together.
Teachers can provide learners with many experiences that make connections to employers
and the world of work including:
Visiting speakers e.g. in lunchtime talks, in special one-off events. Speakers visiting
the education organisation can be quite junior employees or apprentices, with whom
pupils can more readily identify. Alumni are particularly valuable
Careers fairs
Enterprise events (e.g. mini enterprises);
Other work simulations
Mentoring by employers
Mock interviews and CV writing
Speed dating events
Additionally, teachers can facilitate effective work experience programmes in industry
through:
Work shadowing, in which learners accompany an employee through their working
day
Take your son or daughter to work days in which learners accompany a parent to
work
Worksheet 2
What areas of careers education are Identify the scope for contextualising the
relevant to the Curriculum in your school? learning in your school
Identify relevant key competences from the Identify activities (within or outside
CAPE Curriculum Framework classroom) that would prioritise key
competence development
Worksheet 3
Key Competence Class-based Activities External activities
Introduction
Subject teachers see far more of their learners than guidance specialists do, and often have a
close relationship with them; therefore they can be powerful role models to attract learners
towards their subject and the careers that flow from it. By embedding CMS into their
classroom practice teachers will identify and take advantage of the many opportunities to
relate careers to their teaching.
For example, science and mathematics teachers can increase the relevance of their teaching
and foster career learning by linking their curriculum to examples from the world of work:
radiography technician (physics), food analyst (chemistry), conservationist (biology) and
actuary (mathematics). (Gatsby 2014)
However, learners have different career guidance needs at different stages of their learning
programme and so opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of
each individual. Importantly embedded careers management skills should also embed
equality and diversity considerations.
Previously Unit 6.2 has enabled the participants to develop a whole organisation plan for
providing careers advice and pathways to employment within the curriculum. The aim of Unit
6.3 is now for teachers and curriculum leaders to develop a thematic plan of learning (in other
words a Scheme of Work), that will provide the foundation for embedding careers education
and CAPE Key competences into classroom practice. The Scheme of Work will guide the
teacher to plan lessons.
Unit 6.3 has 3 activities that enable participants to put what they have learnt in the whole
training programme into practice and to test it through a step by step approach:
Develop a thematic learning plan/scheme of work for embedded CMS within a subject
area
Plan a subject lesson that contextualises careers advice and embeds CMS
Deliver the lesson and gather feedback from learners
Evaluate the lesson
It is important to realise that UNIT 6.3 is key to the success of the aims of CAPE. Teachers are
the main agents of change within an education organisation, across all levels from leaders to
learners. Teachers are the influencers of a whole organisation approach but are also the
implementers to embedded CMS. Unit 3 is the test drive of embedded CMS that will ensure
Instructions
As an individual refer to the CAPE Curriculum Framework and identify the main
components of careers education that is relevant for your subject area.
Following the headings on the Scheme of Work template, identify elements of careers
education that can be contextualised within your subject area.
Identify key competencies that can be developed through a series of activities both
within the classroom and outside of the classroom
Identify knowledge that can be acquired through classroom based activities or through
external links.
Complete the Scheme of Work for a period of 1 semester.
Instructions
Use worksheet 5 as a guide, select a topic in your subject area for which you will plan
a lesson
Identify the main objectives of the lesson and the content that will be covered, taking
into account the contextualisation of careers education
Identify the learning outcomes for both the subject topic and CMS.
Identify a series of activities that will ensure the learning objectives are covered and
learning outcomes are achieved
Identify resources and methods of assessment that will check that learning has taken
place.
Complete the Lesson Plan.
Teaching methods
Summary of Activities
Instructions
Deliver a lesson according to the lesson planned in activity 2.
Ensure that careers education is embedded into the subject to contextualise the
learning.
Give learners the opportunity to develop career management skills
Gather feedback for learners about the lesson
Complete Worksheet 7: Evaluation as part of self reflection
Introduction
Unit 6.4 tracks the learning that has taken place and the application of it in meaningful
contexts through a process of self reflection, both formative and summative.
Teachers will share their own learning in terms of knowledge gained and skills acquired. They
will reflect on how contextualising learning through embedding careers education impacts on
teaching practice, the practice in the organisation and the motivation and achievement of
learners.
Reflection takes place in group and individual activities. In the group exercise the participants,
represented by all levels within an organisation, reflect on the impact of the training
programme across the organisation, the teachers practice and the learners outcomes. The
purpose is to realise that teacher training is not just professional development of the
individual but has multiple benefits for the organisation (for example in terms of added value,
curriculum enhancement, retention, reduction of ESL, improved attainment, destination of
learners) and for the learners (for example in terms of increased motivation, realistic career
choices, progression to further education and training, long term social and economic
inclusion)
At an individual level teachers will reflect on how contextualising learning through embedding
careers education impacts on their teaching practice, the practice in the organisation and the
motivation and achievement of learners.
This reflective process should include qualitative data that reflects the dynamic nature of the
teachers learning. Specifically, the unit reflects on:
The development of the teachers own skills and knowledge towards embedding CMS
in the curriculum
The impact of embedded CMS on the teachers classroom practice
The impact of embedded CMS on the learner
The impact of embedded CMS on the organisation
Worksheet 8
What is your understanding now of
Careers Management Skills? (CMS)