a healthy tree needs strong roots

A HEALTHY TREE NEEDS

STRONG ROOTS:

Career Exploration the Foundation for

Career Development

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

Stages, Exposure & Opportunities

WHAT IS CAREER

DEVELOPMENT?

The roles played

through life

related to

work, learning, lei

sure and family.

Career Development is…

The new focus on career is a total person

concept.

“The life course of a

person

encountering a

series of

developmental

tasks in such a way

as to become the

kind of person that

he or she wants to

become.” -Donald Super

6 FACTORS FOR OBTAINING

CAREER MATURITY

1. Awareness of the need to plan ahead

2. Decision making skills

3. Knowledge & use of informational resources

4. Having general career information

5. Having general information about the world of work

6. Having detailed information about occupations

EXAMPLES OF

NORMAL VS. DELAYED CAREER

DEVELOPMENT

“Normal”

• Forms a picture of one’s self

• Develops an orientation to the world of work

• Learns the meaning of work

• Sees others working• Does chores • Accepts

responsibility

“Delayed”

• Discovery of uniqueness & self worth difficult to achieve

• Social isolation & narrow range of experiences

• Limiting range of exploratory behaviors

• Limited exposure to working adults

• No models of success in the workplace – disengagement begins

WHEN SHOULD

CAREER

EXPLORATION

AND CAREER

AWARENESS

BEGIN?

“There is a consensus

in the literature that

career development is a

life long process that

begins as early as

four years old.”

“Research suggests

that students who

drop out of

school at age 16 have psychologically

disengaged from school as early as

Grade 3.”

In fact, research has shown that the

majority of youth in 12th grade are almost as equally

aware of future education and

training planning as that of

a 3rd grader.

Family functioning has a greater influence on career development than either family structure or parents' educational and occupational status.

“relationships

and family

functioning are

embedded in

career

conversations

and how the

construction of

career occurs in

families.“

Research demonstrates the strong influence that parenting behavior & family functioning have on career

development.

OUR FAMILIES NEED HELP

Parents often do not have the tools or

information they need to use their power most

effectively.

PARENTS

AS

CAREER

COACHES

Although parents feel they are actively involved in their children’s career decision

making, they also feel that

they are uninformedabout the process and unable to provide

competent help.Downing and D’Andrea

Parents need to know how to best use career information, how to assist in the exploration & development of interests and abilities, & how to challenge the sexual and racial stereotypes facing their children. McNair and Brown

IF YOU CAN’T SEE IT,

YOU CAN’T BE IT!

Lack of exposure

& experiences prevent youth & children from learning about the numerous opportunities in the world of work.

There are over

801different

occupations in the U.S.

HOW MANY OCCUPATIONS CAN

YOU NAME?

• Do you know what an

agronomist is?

• Are you aware of the STEMfields?

EARLY & FREQUENT EXPOSURE

Families

Field Trips

Television

Internet

Job Shadowing

EXPOSURE

Language of the world of work

Mentoring

Activities

Dinner table discussions

EXPOSURE

• Career Development training for

parents• Career Development training for

educators• Community Activities

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

www.nycareerzone.org

• Using Web 2.0 for career development

• Real Game/ Smart Options

• “I Spy”

• Family Vacations

ONE MORE BIT OF RESEARCH…

Remember to Get Families

Involved.

Use Your Creativity

What can you do to

help today’s

children, tomorrow’s

youth and our future’s

adults?

"This is what we are about. We plant seeds that one day will grow. We

water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We

lay foundations that will need further development.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing

that. This enables us to do something, and

enables us to do it very well.

We may never see the end result, but that is the difference between the

master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers,

not Messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own."Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvadore

FOR MORE INFO

CONTACT:

Joanna Palladino

New York State Department of Labor

Joanna.Palladino@labor.ny.gov