Career Development

Career Development of Students

Career development activity, students in a clasroom The goal of SEA's career development activities is to help better prepare secondary vocational students for employment. Working in fifty vocational schools across the country, SEA is helping schools increase and improve the practical, business-related experiences open to students. The project further seeks to form closer links between schools and businesses, and to provide students with relevant information about labor markets, industries, and further education. SEA efforts are focused on three main activities:

  • Career development centers
  • Virtual school firms
  • Real school firms
 
Career development centers will be established in all fifty project schools. These centers will be designed to provide students the resources needed to make informed decisions about their careers. SEA is currently developing a list of materials and equipment to be provided to each career development centers. To prepare school pedagogues and teachers for operating the career centers, SEA selected a local training provider to develop a series of modules on job seeking skills such as CV writing, interviewing, and job searches. The draft modules are being reviewed and training of school pedagogues and teachers should begin in January 2005. Once this training is complete, SEA will launch the career centers.

Project schools were given the opportunity to apply for support in establishing either virtual or real firms. Such firms offer students the opportunity to experience and participate in the operation of a business, learning valuable skills for future employment. Establishment of either virtual or real firms was dependent upon schools' submission of approved business plans and attendance at a business plan workshop. Six of the project schools chose to implement virtual firms, forty-three chose to implement real firms, and one school is implementing both.

All seven schools with virtual firms began operations in October 2004. SEA financed the equipment and the schools provided the space and furniture. A virtual firm fair is being planned for February 2005. Schools planning real firms were required to submit equipment procurement proposals to SEA along with their business plans. To date, nine real firms received their equipment and have begun operations, with an additional twenty-one scheduled to receive equipment and begin operations in February 2005.