Since the 1960s, career cluster resources have been used as career exploration and planning tools in schools, learning communities, and organizations across the country. Career Clusters is a system for coordinating education and career planning.
Step 1: Identify career cluster areas of interest
Occupation groups are groups of similar occupations and industries. When teachers, counselors, and parents work with teenagers, college students, and adults, the first step is to complete the Career Cluster Assessment. The assessment identifies the areas with the highest career clusters. Career reviews show teenagers, college students, and adults in one of the following 16 interest areas or clusters:
1. Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
2. Architecture & Construction
3. Arts, A/V Technology and Communications
4. Business, Management and Administration
5. Education and training
6. Finances
7. Government and public administration
8. Health Science
9. Hospitality and Tourism
10. Human Services
11. Information Technology
12. Law, Public Safety and Security
13. Manufacturing
14. Marketing, Sales & Service
15. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
16. Transportation, distribution and logistics
Step 2: Exploring career clusters and related careers
After identifying the highest career clusters, teenagers, students and adults explore the different careers and create educational plans. Career cluster tools used in career and education planning include:
- LISA: A comprehensive career cluster database
- models
- brochures
- ways
- High school curriculum
- Areas of Interest and Competence
- zebra crossing
After completing a career cluster assessment, teenagers, students and adults look at websites, career models, brochures, pathways and plans for high school. One of the most unique comprehensive Career Cluster resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an Internet program. With LISA you can explore career clusters, careers, skills, educational requirements and more. The LISA program consists of 3 steps:
STEP 1: Click here to select a career cluster
STEP 2: Click here to select a career group
STEP 3: Discover occupations within this occupational group
In step 1, when you select a career cluster, you will see a description of the cluster. If you select a career group in step 2, you will see different careers. Finally, in step 3 you will see a wealth of information:
- job descriptions
- Educational and Training Requirements
- Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE and other codes
- capabilities
- knowledge
- capabilities
- tasks
- work values
- labor market information
Although LISA is a great program, you will need printed materials in the classroom or workshops. When using printed matter, the career model is the best way to get started. Models provide excellent overviews detailing the cluster definitions, exemplary careers, pathways, knowledge and skills. Visual models show career clusters, cluster subsets, and related careers. Models are excellent for introducing career clusters.
The career cluster brochures provide additional information for lectures, workshops and group discussions. Adults and youth learn about the different careers available in each career cluster. Teachers, counselors and parents use the booklets to support adults and young people’s potential career or educational decisions. The brochures cover topics such as:
- Definition of career clusters
- Career
- career paths
- employment prospects
- capabilities
- credentials
Teachers, counselors and parents use Career Paths for more detailed information. The career paths are subgroups or focal points within career clusters. Each path contains career groups. The professional groups have similar academic skills, technical skills, educational requirements, and training requirements. Career paths are study plans that outline required secondary courses, post-secondary courses, and related careers. The Career Paths are essential tools that teachers, counselors, parents and other adults use to provide advice on educational planning.
Several websites offer high school curriculums. These curriculums show required, elective, and suggested courses for each grade level. The school plans also match the occupational clusters with related occupations, career paths and post-secondary options. Teachers, counselors, and parents find these school plans are guidelines for choosing the right high school courses that match potential careers. Beyond high school, the Utah System for Higher Education has produced a College Major Guide. Parents, teachers, and counselors can use the guide to match college majors with certificate and degree programs.
Additional Resources for Counselors and Teachers
There are detailed knowledge and skills charts and cluster crosswalks for planning curricula and educational programs. The knowledge and skills expand on the information listed in the career cluster models. There are performance elements and measurement criteria for each area of knowledge and competence. Crosswalks show the relationships between career clusters and other career models:
Career clusters build a bridge between education and career planning. Various types of career cluster resources are available: videos, websites, brochures, booklets, activity sheets, and workbooks. Teachers, counselors and parents use Career Cluster resources to successfully complete career and educational planning.
Resources:
American Careers Career Paths, Career Communications, 6701 W. 64th St., Overland, KS 66202, 800-669-7795
Career Click, Illinois Department of Employment Security, 33 South State Street, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 793-5700
CIP Code Index by Career Cluster, Adult and Post-Secondary CTE Division, Office of Careers and Technical Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, (717) 772-0814
Cluster and Career Videos, Career One Stop, US Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210, 866-4-USA-DOL
College Major Guide Utah System for Higher Education, Board of Regents Building, The Gateway, 60 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1284, (801) 321-7100
Find Careers (Videos), iSeek Solutions, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Wells Fargo Place, 30 7th St. E., Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101-7804
High School Curriculum, New Hampshire Department of Education, 101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301-3860, (603) 271-3494
Introduction to Career Clusters, Vocational Education, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, PO Box 543
Blacklick, OH 43004-0544,
Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), adapted web version of OSCAR, a product of the Texas Workforce Commission/Career Development Resources, TWC/CDR, Austin, TX 78753
Maryland Career Clusters, Maryland State Department of Education 200 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201,
Rhodes Island Career Cluster, Rhode Island Career Resource Network, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-8790
School-to-Career Cluster, State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, Jobbank, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (860)754-5000
States’ Career Clusters Initiative (SCCI), 1500 W. Seventh Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074
Career path plans, career clusters, knowledge and skills charts
VTECS Cluster Frameworks, VTECS, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA, 30033,404-679-4501 ext. 543
What are career clusters? Career Prospects System, New Mexico Career Resource Network, CAREER TECHNICAL AND WORKFORCE EDUCATION BUREAU (CTWEB), Education Building, 300 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 827-6512
Thanks to Mary Askew | #Career #cluster #bridge #education #career #planning
