3

We ie

MANDATORY
WORK EXPERIENCE
FOR ALL STUDENTS?

eginning Septeraber
: 1997, all high schoo!

students must complete at east
30 hours of work experience in
order to graduate. The work
experience is part of the new
Career and Personal Planning
course (CAPP) which has been
introduced to
help studerts
plan their
careers and
improve the
transition to
work,

A key
element in the
Career and
Personal
Planning course
is the Student
Learning Plan
each student must produce
beginning in Grade 9. This plan
is adjusted annually, as the
student becomes more aware of
his or her interests and
aptitudes, and leans more
about the personal, educational
and career options available.
Through this process, students
learn to plan, and to take
responsibility for their direction
in life. Through the 30 hour

“Students learn
to plan, and to
take reponsibility
for their direction
in life.”

work experience, students can
explore the career fields that
seem attractive to them, and
adjust their plans accordingly.

There are a number of work
experience activities a student
can engage in. Some will be able
to have part-time work accepted
for credit,
Others will work
or job shadow
in a variety of
workplaces, or
work with a
community
mentor.
Volunteer work
can also be
accepted as
work
experience, as
can career,
seminars. Some of the above will
be organized by the student, but
in many cases, schools will be
required to find work
experience opportunities from
the employer comraunity. In
each case, in order to earn the
required credit, the work
experience must relate to the
plans identified in the Student
Learning Plan.

Needless to say, arranging for

eek

work

experience will be

somewhat of a challenge for
schools anv, employers. in
preparation for this, the North
and West Vancouver School
Districts are combining efforts to
develop an employer data base
for the North Shore. This
information will be kept current
so schools will know if an
employer is willing and able to
take a student. This will
minimize the number of calls to
employers, and be much more

efficient than

the current system. The
data base should

be fully operational by
September, 1996.

Parents and employers
interested in more information
or willing to offer work
experience opportunities can
call foanne Ward, Skills Now
Facilitator (987-6667), or their
local school.

We are in the middle of a workplace revolution —a
revolution that changes the work we do now and

the jobs we'll have in the future. More than ever
before, good jobs call for constant learning,
retraining, the upgrading of skills and smart
working habits.

Education for employment is a feature highlighting
businesses who will still be around in the year 2000
This special section reflects the growing need of our
readers for information to make an educated choice

for their or their children’s future. :