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Preparatory Experiences — Youth
Service Practitioner Section
Introduction
School-based preparatory experiences are those experiences that help youth become prepared
for their future. They include opportunities to learn about themselves through
assessment, opportunity awareness, work experience, and other activities that
provide them with knowledge, skills and abilities they will need for future
success. If you are an individual who provides direct services to youth, such
as a teacher, counselor, service provider, or intake coordinator, you play a
vital role in ensuring that youth have an opportunity to participate in school-based preparatory experiences.
There are many parts to the role you can play. To engage a young person in
a meaningful preparatory experience, it is important to gain some knowledge
about the young person and to learn about their interests, goals and dreams
for the future, as well as identify any supports or services that may assist
them to be successful. An initial conversation about their plans may help you
get an idea of what types of school-based preparatory experiences may be useful to them.
Experiences that help them test their skills, learn about careers firsthand,
and that provide them opportunities to gain insight about themselves as well
as the world of work, will assist them to refine their interests and identify
areas where additional education and experience will be needed.
In addition to dialogue, the young person may benefit from formal or informal
career assessment as a way to identify careers of interest, or to substantiate
their career goal, if already selected. Opportunity awareness activities that
expose them to information about careers, the job market, the job-related skills,
education and training needed for entry into careers of interest, provide insight
about work environments and culture, as well as participation in experiences
that build work readiness skills, will also benefit the young person. Because
youth with disabilities don't always have access to opportunities to learn about
themselves and to gain work experience and skills, your attention to fostering
and supporting these opportunities is especially important for them.
You will need to coordinate your efforts with the school if the youth with
whom you are working is still in school or any other organizations from which
he/she receives services. This will help to avoid duplication of service and
ensure that efforts are maximized to bring about the greatest possible success
for the youth.
The following information will help you with your efforts to provide quality
school-based preparatory experiences for youth with disabilities.
Questions
1. What types of
career assessments can be useful in guiding school-based preparatory experiences?
Career assessments help youth define and explore career options that are compatible
with their personal goals, interests, and abilities. They are a key step in
a continuous process of helping young people make informed choices about their
future. The career assessment process differs for each individual due to individual
learning styles, cultural differences, language barriers, academic abilities,
and sometimes, due to the impact of disability. Because there are multiple ways
to provide career assessments, every young person can participate in some type
of assessment. Assessments can be written, oral, or online; formal, informal,
or work-based, and administered individually or in a group setting. Many can
be modified if accommodations are needed. All provide information that can be
shared with youth to help them identify a career path.
Formal assessments are usually standardized assessments that are administered,
scored and interpreted by trained personnel. Someone else may have responsibility
for these, even another agency, but you as a front line worker should have access
to as many of these formal assessments as possible for multiple reasons. It
eliminates your having to “over assess” youth, the information can
help guide your interaction with the youth, and the sharing among agencies can
also help ensure the service plan developed with the youth in your organization
is complimentary to what occurs in other organizations.
Informal assessments are not standardized; these include online inventories,
surveys, interviews, and observation of youth performing specific tasks in specific
environments. You are most likely very adept at informal assessment; you do
it all the time when you work with a young person. You continually observe the
results of their participation and efforts, interact with them, and discuss
their interests, dreams and goals with them. You may have developed informal
assessment tools of your own.
An initial career assessment can be very informal and can ask questions such
as:
- What three jobs interest you?
- What type of education and training will you need to prepare for these jobs?
- What skills do you have that would make you good at these jobs?
- What skills will you need to develop?
- Do you have any work experience (paid, unpaid)?
The
Educational online website has an example of a simple online "Career
Interest Survey" in their college compass section: http://www.Edonline.com/collegecompass/carhlp2.htm
You can also create rating scales to assess school and work performance; create
work samples to discover knowledge or level of performance in such areas as
computer operations, math and writing skills, learning style, or ability to
follow directions. You can observe how youth perform in different environments
and situations. For instance, do they do better in a group setting or working
alone, in a noisy or quiet environment? Do they prefer routine or varied activities?
Informal assessments can provide a great deal of useful information that can
direct the type of school-based preparatory experiences in which the young person will participate
and make a good starting point for discussion and planning.
As a front line worker, utilizing career assessments is an excellent first
step in guiding youth toward successful school-based preparatory experiences and, ultimately,
success in the world of work.
Some websites with online career assessments include
(NOTE:
These are a fun and informative place to start; note that many have not been
tested for reliability or validity. Also, some sites give a free mini-evaluation
and offer a full evaluation for a fee):
MAPP
(Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential) Career Analysisthis test
has 71 groupings of 3 statements. For each group, the test taker selects the
statements they MOST and LEAST agree with:
http://www.assessment.com;
Ansell-Casey
Life Skills - these free assessments evaluate youth's life skills completed
and automatically scored online:
http://www.caseylifeskills.org;
Career
Focus 2000 Interest Inventory – This inventory has 180 items about
work tasks which represent 18 occupational fields and helps identify possible
career goals that match personal interests:
http://www.iccweb.com/careerfocus/index.asp;
Type
Focus Personality Type Profile - a 66-question assessment that reports Myers-Briggs
type and offers some of career direction
http://www.typefocus.com.
2. How can I develop
career awareness opportunities for the youth I serve?
There are many different activities that can provide career awareness opportunities
for youth. Career opportunity awareness is the process of exposing young people
to information about the job market, job related skills, the wide variety of
jobs that exist and the education and training they require, as well as the
work environment where they are performed. The information learned by participating
in opportunity awareness activities can help young people identify careers of
interest, learn how they can prepare for them, and help them match their interests,
personality, and abilities to careers. For this reason, they are an important
part of the preparatory experience. Here are some examples:
- Exposure to multiple opportunities in a variety of settings
that allow youth to hear about and observe different jobs being performed
is one excellent way to increase their career awareness. Reading
about different careers is an excellent way to gain basic information but
real life exposure is the best way to learn about them. Ensure that the youth
with whom you are working have opportunities to visit different
workplaces and to talk with the individuals performing the work. You
may be able to coordinate this activity through school or perhaps with other
organizations in the community who provide this type of service for youth.
- You can invite guest speakers to address groups
of youth you serve to provide information about different careers, guidance
in planning for them, and to discuss the skills needed for future success.
Guest speakers can come to your site, or perhaps meet with youth at different
locations within the community, including the speaker's place of employment,
a local high school, or a university.
- Assist youth with researching careers using the Internet,
professional magazines, newspapers, and periodicals. There is a wealth
of resources that provide information on careers, and the education and training
required for entry level work. Professional magazines, newspapers and other
written materials can provide information about the job market, careers that
will be in demand in the future, sources of education and training, and professional
organizations can provide additional information and resources.
- Provide youth with opportunities to arrange informational
interviews with individuals who do a job of interest and help them
to develop questions that will help them guide their decision about how well
they match up with what the job requires. Discuss their perceptions of the
job and the realities of the job and help them identify what they liked and
didn't like about the job, as well as identify some related types of jobs
that they may like to explore.
- Provide resources for youth to explore financial aid
for further education and training, to learn about technology, to participate
in benefits planning activities, and to learn about the services and supports
within their community that can assist them to participate in career awareness
opportunity activities.
These are just some of the activities in which you can involve youth to increase
their exposure to the many career opportunities that exist for them. Use your
creativity to capitalize on all opportunities that provide insight about the
many career possibilities that exist.
3. What are work
readiness skills and how can I help youth to develop them?
Work readiness skills are the capabilities that allow youth to perform the
educational and vocational tasks expected of them by schools and the workplace.
They include soft skills, such as good work habits and attitudes, the ability
to communicate and get along with others; and job search proficiencies such
as understanding and demonstrating the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities
to find, apply for, and keep a job. These skills are essential for all youth,
and you can play a role in assisting youth in your program to develop them.
After completing initial career assessments with the young person, you will
have a good idea of what type of work the young person is interested in pursuing.
However, even if they acquire the education and skills needed for entry in their
career of choice, they still must demonstrate good work-readiness skills if
they are to achieve true success in the workplace. There are many activities
in which you can engage youth to help them develop needed work-readiness skills.
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Eight (8) Activities to Develop
Work-Readiness Skills. |
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- Provide opportunities for youth to demonstrate responsible
work habits and attitudes.
- Require them to come to appointments on time, to call
if they cannot keep an appointment, and to speak up if
they need assistance or accommodations in performing any
activity.
- Provide opportunities for youth to practice effective
communication and interpersonal skills by encouraging
their participation in group or team activities within
your organization.
- Invite youth to provide feedback about services and
activities in which they participate, and encourage them
to problem solve by identifying different services that
may be useful to them or recommend different methods of
implementing activities.
- Use sample templates on the computer for young people
to practice developing a resume.
- Brainstorm the types of questions typically asked at
an interview, and help youth learn how to respond positively
to them.
- Discuss any types of accommodations a youth may require
in the interview, application, or interview process and
help them decide under what circumstances they should
ask for accommodations, and how.
- Coordinate job shadow experiences, information interviews,
job "try outs" or other types of opportunities
for youth to be exposed to the world of work, so they
can learn firsthand about employer expectations for the
workplace. There is nothing as reinforcing as learning
about desired workplace skills from those who have the
ability to hire or fire you!
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Resources
The
Occupational Information Network (O*Net OnLine): Testing and Assessment Guides.
http://www.onetcenter.org/guides.html
The US Department of Labor is developing a series of three Testing and Assessment
Guides." This site also has accommodations information. Two of these guides
are available now for downloading (see link)). Or you may obtain hard copies
from the US Government Printing Office by calling (202) 512-1800.
The
US Department of the Interior: Interest Inventory.
http://www.doi.gov/octc/holland.html
Offers the Holland Occupational Themes instrument which measures vocational
interests and skills. It is based on the belief that interests and skills are
closely intertwined.
The
Buros Institute website.
http://www.unl.edu/buros/index18.html
The Mental Measurements Yearbook provides an extensive index of assessments
including personality, career guidance, and communication. Access to the index
is free, but the assessments themselves need to be purchased.
The Internet
Career Connection.
http://iccweb.com/
Explore this database with detailed profiles of over 250 careers which includes
nature of work, working conditions, qualifications, salary, and job outlook.
(Look for "occupational profiles" under reference information on the
home page.)
Cornucopia
Of Disability Information (CODI).
http://codi.buffalo.edu/
CODI serves as a community resource for consumers and professionals by providing
disability information in a wide variety of areas. It consists of both an Internet
Directory of Disability Information and a repository of electronic disability
documents, dating back to the early 1990s.
Basic Educational
Materials Publishers
http://www.bempub.com
These publishers offers teachers, youth service providers, and home schoolers
instructional materials in the areas of employment readiness and life skills
- some of which are specifically written for youth with disabilities.
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