I wish we had that when I was in School!
Posted on October 6, 2008. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division, School-to-Work/Careers | Tags: Broughton, Career and Technical Education, career fair, Chris Droessler, Christopher L. Droessler, CTE, high school, Internship, job shadow, reunion, school-to-career, school-to-work |
I went to my high school reunion this weekend and had lots of opportunities to describe my job as School-to-Career Coordinator.
The immediate response from most of my school-mates was “I wish they had that when I was in school!”
Too many of us were shuffled off to college, since the high schools were convinced that getting us into college would ensure financial success.
But most of us majored in something we were truly not suited for, and many don’t want to talk about their job, because it’s just something to do to pay the bills. Think of how much better the world (not to mention the economy) would be if more people found the career path that fired up their passion. Our School-to-Career programs can do that!
We need to help our secondary students figure out what they want to be so we can help get them into the appropriate postsecondary education program. Everyone needs some kind of postsecondary education. It might be a university, community college, trade school, or on-the-job training, but whatever it is, it should be preparing each student for the career that is best suited to their interests and needs.
I spent a lot of money studying Electrical Engineering in college before transferring into Technology Education. Up until that time, I’m not sure if I had ever met an electrical engineer or really knew what one did on a regular basis. I was in engineering because I was good at math and built kits from Radio Shack, not because I had any real interests in that field.
When I was in high school, we did not have career fairs, job shadowing, internships, or any other way to meet business professionals to talk about careers. If they did, I was not aware of it, probably because I was earmarked for college.
If I had the opportunity to talk to an electrical engineer while in high school, I might have switched majors in high school rather then in college. (Oh, the dollars I spent on college!)
It is important for our kids to talk to business professionals, not only to gain the social graces of conversing with an adult, but also to gain professional insight into the careers that they have chosen to explore.
I want the next generation to go to their high school reunion talking proudly about their work since we gave them the opportunity in high school to explore their personal interests, explore all careers, have conversations with business professionals, and get on the right track to postsecondary education and a rewarding career.
Well, that’s the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
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Chris Droessler |
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Career Advice For Aspiring Dancers (and everyone else)
Posted on September 8, 2008. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division, School-to-Work/Careers | Tags: A Chorus Line, ACL, Broadway, Career and Technical Education, Chris Droessler, Christopher L. Droessler, CTE, Internship, passion, school-to-career, school-to-work |
Careers in the Arts are often overlooked in our School-to-Career programs. Most feel that you have to be really lucky or know the right influential people to make it in the Arts. But rather then requiring luck to succeed in the Arts, it’s passion that keeps you going and gets you noticed.
My school system has embarked on a unique relationship with the local company that brings traveling Broadway productions to the area. This is the fourth time that they have created an all-local-student production of a major Broadway production.
“A Chorus Line” gives the audience a glimpse backstage at a Broadway audition and rehearsal where dancers are competing for a few select places in an upcoming production. They’ve all spent untold years working hard to get to the audition, and now we see the building anxiety over who gets to be one of the eight dancers that will be chosen.
Besides the actual auditioning and rehearsals, we get to meet the characters as they discuss dancing, family, relationships, ambitions, and most importantly for this conversation, they talk about their career and their plans for when they are too old to dance. Some of the characters are living for the moment and have not even considered a life without dancing. That passion is what makes the great dancers truly great.
The actors, orchestra, and many on the technical crew are all middle and high school students from across our large school system. A few teachers and former students are busy working behind the scenes making this a memorable event for all.
We are fortunate to have a talented group of professionals working with our students. Terrence Mann, a Broadway professional, is directing the production. Charlotte d’Amboise, who is in the current Broadway production of A Chorus Line, is helping out with the choreography. Tammy Holder, Broadway musical director, is conducting the orchestra and inspiring the voices. And Craig Stelzenmuller, Broadway lighting designer and former student from this area, is lighting up the stage.
Many of our students have turned this experience in to an official internship. Working with professionals in a professional setting has giving them the unique experience of working on a real Broadway musical. It is hoped that the internship will integrate what they learn “on the job” with what they are learning in the classroom. At the conclusion of the internship, each student will report to their class about their experiences and what they learned from them. These experiences can truly prepare them for the Broadway life or any related career.
Careers in the arts are not for the faint at heart. There are not enough jobs for the people vying for them, but if you have the passion for what you like to do, you can turn anything into a career.
We can learn a lot from the Arts about passion-driven careers. It’s not about the money, it’s about the talent within you that wants to come out and express itself. Are you passionate about what you do in your work? Can you help the next generation find their passion and help them fashion it into a rewarding career?
Well, that’s the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
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Chris Droessler |
Young adults without ‘soft skills’ in the workplace will face hard landing in life
Posted on May 21, 2008. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division, School-to-Work/Careers | Tags: apprenticeship, Career Technical Education, Chris Droessler, Christopher L. Droessler, communication, CTE, employability skills, Internship, manners, polite, school-to-career, school-to-work, soft skills |
I just read a great editorial in the News and Observer about the importance of young adults learning “soft skills.”
A few quotes from the article:
“Imagine that, Mom was right. Listen more, talk less, be polite, consider others, work hard, team play, show up on time, shine your shoes and don’t slouch. Think before you speak.”
“But many recent graduates cannot communicate or play well with others. They lack critical “soft skills” such as basic office etiquette, communication, leadership and team skills. In a business setting, where customers, sales and the company’s reputation are on the line, employers are increasingly unhappy with the graduates available for hire.”
“Our graduates have technical skills, more computer aptitude than ever before. But without the soft skills to honor others and themselves, they have little chance of successful long-term careers.”
“In a 2006 survey of 400 employers, three quarters of respondents said that high school grads lack interpersonal skills.”
Chris’ Thoughts:
Students need to know that showing up on time to class will be like showing up to work on time. Completing homework assignments will be like completing work assignments.
We teach soft skills in our Career and Technical Education classes. We also teach them in our school athletics programs. How about in the core subjects? What can we do to get a common soft skills program to cross curricular lines?
Hopefully, students in an internship or apprenticeship will quickly learn what soft skills they are lacking. Or at least they might start to connect the reality between coming to class on time prepared to learn and showing up to a job on time ready to work.
The next time you have a career fair, or any other event where the students interact with members of the business community, let the business people know that soft skills is a better discussion topic than the usual “How much do you make?”.
Well, at least that’s the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
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Chris Droessler |
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NC College Tech Prep Conference
Posted on March 6, 2008. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division | Tags: 21st century skills, business education partnerships, career data, Career Development Coordinator, Career Development Facilitator, career fair, Chris Droessler, Christopher L. Droessler, Emerging careers, Internship, Labor market information, mock interview, mock job interview, nc career outlook, NC College Tech Prep Conference, nccareeroutlook, Perkins, practice job interview, school-to-career, school-to-work, tech prep, work-based learning |
I’m back from the NC College Tech Prep Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina, earlier this week. Several of the Career Development Coordinators (you might call them Facilitators or Counselors) from my school system attended as well.
We went to some great presentations and even did a few presentations ourselves.
Here is a synopsis of the Wake County presentations:
- One of our presentations was about Great Xplorations, which is a county-wide career fair for 2,000 of our 8th, 9th, and 10th graders. 150 volunteers from business and postsecondary education set up informative displays and talked to students about careers. This presentation discussed how to put on an event like this and how to adapt this event to other school systems.
- Another presentation was Xtreme Beginnings, which is a career development conference for over 600 10th, 11th, and 12th graders who participate in a job fair hosted by the JobLink Career Center, completed practice job interviews sponsored by the Greater Raleigh-Wake Human Resources Management Association, interacted with career professionals in a round table format representing NC Career Pathways, and learned about postsecondary educational programs to prepare them for careers of the future. Educators prepared students in pre-event activities to ensure effective connections for the students. This presentation illustrated the nuts and bolts of developing this type of event for any geographic area or age level.
- Capitalizing on Career-Focused Volunteerism: How to Design, Recruit & Sustain Business and Education Partnerships was a presentation about creating a collaborative business and education partnership. This session discussed the elements of design, recruitment, and sustainability of this 13-year partnership working to achieve career development and exploration goals for students through the donation of career expertise and life experience. Initiative materials were shared with attendees.
- A Changing World: Helping Students Prepare for Life in a World That We Know Little About explains how young people entering the workforce lack critical skills that are essential for success. This presentation explored these skills that our students’ future employers say are required for success in the 21st Century. It also looked at what we are doing to prepare our students for careers that do not yet exist, in worlds that may not even exist.
- Getting and Using Current Career Data to Help Students Prepare for Careers That Will Be in Demand When They Graduate was a presentation that reinforced that without current career data (labor market information), we might continue to send our students to the wrong schools and prepare them for nonexistent jobs. This session looked at the trends in the job market including the creation of new jobs, jobs with high demand, changes in salaries, and educational requirements for employment. A student-friendly, 36-page booklet was created using the current and projected career data in North Carolina. This presentation showed how the book was created with an emphasis on how to replicate this for any employment region.
PowerPoint files for these presentations and other supporting documents can be found at www.wcpss.net/school_to_career/resources/presentations.
All of these presentations have been submitted for the national ACTE Convention in December. Look for us in Charlotte!
We are fortunate to have a nice College Tech Prep conference in this state. If we don’t keep our elected officials up to date about how Tech Prep programs drive the economy, we might see Tech Prep and all of its benefits go away. Talk up Perkins!
Well, at least that’s the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
| Chris Droessler President of ACTE School-to-Work/Careers Section School-to-Career Coordinator Wake County Public School System North Carolina, USA www.wcpss.net/school_to_career |
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NC College Tech Prep Conference
Posted on February 29, 2008. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division | Tags: Career Development Coordinator, Career Development Facilitator, Chris Droessler, Christopher L. Droessler, Emerging careers, Internship, Labor market information, NC College Tech Prep Conference, Perkins, school-to-career, school-to-work, tech prep, work-based learning |
I’m off to the NC College Tech Prep Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina next week. Several of the Career Development Coordinators (you might call them Facilitators or Counselors) from my school system will be attending as well.
I always find this to be an exciting conference with lots of sessions that relate directly to our School-to-Career program. Specifically:
- Internships and other work-based learning programs. Getting our kids out into the workforce to experience work at an early age is so important.
- Business/Education partnerships. Our school system excels at this, but we can always get better.
- Emerging careers. How many of your kids say they want to become a nanotechnologist or a bioinformatics specialist? Biotechnology is the emerging industry that our political leaders are hanging their hat on, so there will be many sessions on that.
- Labor market information. That’s the area that I’m known for. Getting up-to-date information about each career to our students is essential if we hope to help them find the perfect career fit for them.
We are fortunate to have a nice College Tech Prep conference in this state. If we don’t keep our elected officials up to date about how Tech Prep programs drive the economy, we might see Tech Prep and all of its benefits go away. Talk up Perkins!
I hope to update this blog with info from the conference. It all depends on Internet connections in the hotel.
Well, at least that’s the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
| Chris Droessler President of ACTE School-to-Work/Careers Section School-to-Career Coordinator Wake County Public School System North Carolina, USA www.wcpss.net/school_to_career |
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Behind the Scenes at Disney
Posted on January 17, 2008. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division | Tags: Boy Scouts, Explorer Post, Internship, school-to-career, school-to-work, Technical Theater |
I took a group of technical-theater students to Disney World over the winter break to see what’s happening behind the scenes. The students got to walk behind the stages and through the control booths for many of the venues at the Disney parks. They talked to Disney employees about the equipment, work schedules, getting hired, and many other topics.
These students are part of an Explorer Post, which is the worksite-based program of the Learning for Life program. The Exploring program is a great way to get kids interested in exploring careers outside the classroom.
The students earned the money for this trip by working events in the area. This involved students working at community events for local arts agencies, large school system events, non-profit agencies, houses of worship, and others. The Explorers helped design and produce the events, which involves more than just sound systems and stage lighting. The client gets a quality event, and the kids get real hands-on experiences. Many of the clients pay a stipend to the Explorer Post, which is usually a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional company stage the event. Money raised goes into trips such as this.
The purpose of the trip was to get the students behind the scenes at some professional stages. Some of the kids are pursuing careers in this industry, while others are not. The students are always looking for ideas to bring back to use at our local events, so seeing the “Disney magic” from behind the scenes provided them with food for thought.
When we started taking about careers at Disney World, the kids were quick to rule out the jobs they did not want, such as food service. It’s just as important to rule out undesirable careers, as it is to start a list of desirable careers. Anything that can help narrow down the choices is good.
Is the Exploring program active in your area? If so, see how you can help promote the Explorer Posts in your schools.
Exploring is a great school-to-career program that requires little effort from school personnel. Check it out and get your kids involved.
Well, at least the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
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Chris Droessler |
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I Get to Work at the State Fair !!
Posted on October 30, 2007. Filed under: CTE, New and Related Services Division | Tags: Internship, school-to-career, school-to-work, workplace learning |
Every year I take a week’s vacation from my job as School-to-Career Coordinator to go work at the NC State Fair. I run the Agriculture Education exhibit where a dozen agencies and businesses related to agriculture and the environment show off their stuff to the fairgoers.
I have several high school and college interns working with me each year learning what it takes to plan and run a big production.
So where have you worked lately? Educators know their education, but how many educators escape from the halls of academia to venture out into the business world to see where we are sending all of our students.
It’s important that our students get work-place experiences to learn how school and work are different (we need a later discussion on this as well). But how many of us have experienced life outside the classroom so we can truly speak intelligently about the careers our students may one day hold.
I challenge each of you to find a job, even if it’s only a week out of your summer, to get some first hand experience. Better yet, get a job right along side one of your student interns so you can experience both the work as well as evaluate your internship program from the inside.
The world of work is changing rapidly, and we are preparing our kids for jobs that may not yet exist. How can we do our job if we don’t really know where we are sending them.
Well, at least the way that I see it. Let me know what you are thinking, and stop by again soon for more of my ramblings.
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Chris Droessler |
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School-to-Career Blog 