Integrating Career Awareness into ABE & ESOL Programs (2 of 2, Boston)

Description: This participatory two-session workshop is an excellent opportunity for teachers and counselors to learn about the career planning process which will motivate students by providing them with the tools and information to reach their career and employment goals. Receive and learn how to use the new SABES Career Awareness Curriculum which is related to the MA DOE Curriculum Frameworks strands and standards and was developed for use in ABE or ESOL classrooms. The presenters will demo some practical and easy-to-use online career exploration and employment resources which the teachers and counselors can use with their students. Topics to be covered at this workshop include: career planning, cultural awareness, identifying transferable skills and values, informational interviewing, particular issues concerning new immigrant ESOL learners, how to be a good consumer of education and financial considerations. This is an IPQ1 workshop.

Learning Objectives:

As a result of this workshop participants will be able to:

1. Integrate career awareness into their curriculum/program using a variety of methods, activities and outside resources (e.g., guest speakers, career fairs, job shadowing)

2. Understand how supporting students’ career and employment goals can increase student persistence and motivation

3. Have a clear understanding of the steps/building blocks of the career planning process and how to guide students through it

4. Understand the role of various types of career inventories/ assessments and how to interpret them with students (skills, interests, experience, values)

5. Use/adapt the tools and techniques, such as career inventories/assessments outlined in the curriculum, in their classrooms

6. Identify their and their learners’ transferable skills and understand how these relate to career action planning

7. Locate some useful information resources regarding the world of work and the job market, and use and apply regional, statewide and national labor market resources