Sharing career information with students

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/11/2017 (3077 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s great to follow your career dreams, but also wise to consider future job opportunities close to where you live.

That’s the message that Portage la Prairie School Division career development co-ordinator Blair Hordeski is hoping Portage Collegiate’s Grade 9 students will receive through a new pilot course that connects local workers with students.

“The program breaks down the wall between the community and students. Community members come in and talk about what they do,” Hordeski said.

Beginning this fall, people who work in the areas of health care, agriculture, entrepreneurship and skilled trades have started coming into the classroom to speak to students about their jobs. Hordeski said hearing people’s real-life experiences helps students to learn about new opportunities and also to discover that they’re not interested in certain employment fields.

“It gives students a chance to explore a number of careers. They can identify their vocational interest.”

Right now local workers are invited to register in a community career contributors database to indicate their interest in speaking to students about their professions. When added to the database, a Grade Nine career development instructor may call and invite you to speak to their class about your profession, business or organization. Each presentation usually takes about 30 minutes and students can ask questions afterward.

“The reality is, it’s fun to talk to kids,” Hordeski said.

He said the career development course will continue throughout the school year and could possibly be extended to include students in higher grades.

The link to the career contributors’ database is at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAx_K6FaWqz_6rlet5Lr4x_Jyzxx6kUVfV51NaUW3EGFcH3A/viewform
Anyone who is interested can also contact Hordeski at bhordeski@plpsd.mb.ca