Career Education

Dawn Kuppenbender, Superintendent of Learning (La Ronge Central Office) Email: [email protected]

The K-12 aim of Career Education is to enable all Saskatchewan students to develop essential skills and career management competencies to assist them in achieving their potential as they construct their personal life and work career.

Goals are broad statements identifying what students are expected to know and be able to do upon completion of the learning in a particular area of study. The three goals of K-12 Career Education are to:
 
  • develop career management competencies through an exploration of personal change and growth
  • explore the connections between learning and work pathways and their connections to community
  • engage in inquiry to construct a personal life and work plan.
 
The Ministry of Education has adopted the Blueprint for Life/Work Designs as the scope and sequence for the integration of career development competencies into all curricula. The Blueprint outlines the skills, knowledge, and attitudes essential for effectively managing life/work development. This framework, which describes career development competencies from early childhood through adulthood, was developed through the collaboration of representatives of Canadian provinces and territories and is published by the National Life/Work Centre, a not-for-profit organization that supports career development. The cornerstone of the Blueprint is the matrix of eleven competencies grouped into three sections: personal management, learning and work exploration, and life/work building. These three sections provide the basis for the three goals of K-12 Career Education.
 
Along with the Blueprint, two skill and competency organizers highlighted in the outcomes of the Career Education curriculum provide Canada-wide references of skills needed by all workers based on research with employers:
 
  • The Essential Skills developed by Human Resources and Social Development Canada can be viewed HERE.
  • The Employability Skills, developed by the Conference Board of Canada, also provide an organizer for common skills in all jobs. The information can be found at HERE.

NLSD supports its Career Education curriculum with myBlueprint, a program where students are engaged in the process of setting goals for themselves, recording their interests, aspirations and activities, and making informed plans for their future. All students from grades 7 to 12 have access to the myBlueprint program and are actively encouraged to share with their parents and caregivers. It helps everyone keep on track and work toward the goals set. There is an Educational Planner for high school students to help them plan and track their high school courses and a Pathways Planner to help them determine where they want to go after high school and what they need to do to get there. Ask your child about his myBlueprint portfolio or visit the site with him/her. My BluePrint Online