We often tell students to follow their dreams and passions, but this advice doesn’t necessarily warrant a successful career path. Notably recognized as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the country, Utah has the opportunity to prepare students for their future workforce and align them with a thriving career path.
To effectively prepare our students for their future workforce, guidance and resources are needed to understand what skills they have beyond current interests and experiences. This goes beyond aligning a student with excellent grades in science with a career in pharmaceuticals or engineering, or one with an interest in poetry with a career in creative writing.
The career navigation process typically follows a conventional decision-making paradigm geared towards students with affluent backgrounds and high academic achievement. This process includes: (1) applying to college; (2) receiving acceptance and choosing an institution; (3) determining a major; (4) pursuing academic studies and making progress at the institution; (5) initiating a search for a career path; and (6) gaining employment.
It seems simple, but this process can unintentionally cause lower-achieving students to fall through the cracks without alternative pathways.
Some students pursue alternative paths to the traditional four-year college path through trade institutions, the military or immediately entering the workforce. These students also deserve exploration and preparation into the many different career pathways.
That’s why we must remember that each student has unique skills, circumstances and challenges that can all factor into their future and how they get there.
To help our students accurately navigate their pathways, we must identify students’ aptitudes starting as early as elementary grades. Aptitudes are inherent talents or abilities solidified at the age of 14 and predict an individual’s ability to excel in specific tasks without being influenced by knowledge, culture or education. They also indicate skills that align with specific educational and career pathways.
These pathways can introduce students to opportunities that might have remained unexplored due to a lack of exposure — like those in STEM, which can support future careers related to AI and technology. A study found that women experience exposure gaps, especially in STEM. Introducing female students to STEM careers early in their education can significantly improve their chances of pursuing a career in the field.
To increase student exposure to new career opportunities, we must leverage career-connected learning (CCL). CCL forges a connection between classroom learning and the real world, providing students with career exploration and equipping them with the appropriate context for their studies. This can involve teaching essential work and life skills like adaptability, problem-solving, teamwork and planning through group projects and collaboration with local business community partners. For instance, Utah-based Apogee Worx and 47G are collaborating to strengthen Utah’s talent pipeline in aerospace and defense manufacturing.
CCL also allows students to participate in career and technical education (CTE) programs at their schools. Through these programs, students can earn third-party certifications in various career fields that can showcase their specific skills and potentially help them receive future college credit. In Utah, the State Board of Education offers high school students the opportunity to earn certifications in engineering and technology, business and finance, and health sciences, among other fields.
By uncovering student aptitudes and exposing them to new career possibilities in our K-12 system, we can reverse the conventional decision-making paradigm and encourage students to: (1) uncover their innate talents; (2) explore and develop a career interest; (3) discover and apply to a best-fit college or program; (4) enter personalized career pathway; and (5) continue to navigate said career pathway or adapt.
However, to truly enable this, educators, industry and the state and federal government must collaborate. Governments can support this shift by launching new initiatives, establishing frameworks for schools, providing funding and undertaking research.
Ensuring all parties are aligned enables us to create a truly holistic approach that prepares students for the unpredictable job market in the future. It also instills confidence and a sense of agency, enabling them to thrive in their future careers.
By doing this, we can ensure that students are ready for tomorrow’s jobs and equipped to invent their own futures.
Hans Meeder is Senior Fellow for Education and Workforce Innovation at YouScience, an education technology firm that delivers career to workforce technology solutions. He is author of the Power and Promise of Pathways and the forthcoming Preparing Tomorrow’s Workforce. He is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Education, and policy advisor to the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee.