1. Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources

2. Architecture & Construction

3. Arts, A/V Technology & Communication

4. Business, Management & Administration

5. Education & Training

6. Finance

7. Government & Public Administration

8. Health Science

9. Hospitality & Tourism

10. Human Services

11. Information Technology

12. Law, Public Safety & Security

13. Manufacturing

14. Marketing, Sales & Service

15. Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

16. Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

States and federal agencies across the nation have created career cluster web sites and resources. We have reviewed three (3) of the best state or federal agency web sites.

Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA)

One of the most unique comprehensive career cluster resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an Internet program. LISA lets you explore career clusters, careers, abilities, training requirements, and more. Using the Lisa, you can do the following tasks:

Assessment: Explore career options using the Work Importance Locator.

I Enjoy: Find careers based upon the things that you enjoy.

Cluster: Find careers from Career Cluster Groups.

Search: Search for jobs based on knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Best Match: Use your current job to find knowledge, skills, and abilities to identify a new career.

Compare: Compare current job to potential new job.

Profile: Use this feature to create a profile from a selected career.

There are 3 steps in the LISA program. In Step 1, when you choose a career cluster, you will read the description of the cluster. When you select a career cluster in Step 2, you can select a career group. In each career group, you will see a lot of different careers. Finally, in Step 3, you see additional occupational information, such as:

Job descriptions

Educational and training requirements

Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE, and other codes

Abilities

Knowledge

Skills

Tasks

Work Values

Labor Market Information

There is detailed information in each job profile:

Description

Crosswalk

Abilities

Knowledge

Skills

Tasks

Work Values

Occupational Characteristics Narrative

The Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA) is an excellent tool for students to do career cluster exploration.

NCE Career Clusters and State Career Clusters Initiative Resources

The NCE Career Clusters has adapted information from the State Career Clusters Initiative to create a career education toolkit for teachers and counselors. In your NCE Career Clusters toolkit, you can find a Career Cluster Model, poster, resource booklets, At-a-Glance PDF Slices, and Plans of Study. Each resource is designed to facilitate the exploration of Career Clusters.

Career Cluster Resource Booklet

To prepare for a Career Clusters discussion, teachers and counselors use the State Career Clusters Initiative Career Cluster Resource Booklet. The brochures discuss the differences between career clusters and career pathways. The booklet outlines that career clusters are career groups from the same industry that have the same skills and educational requirements. Career pathways are specific careers that are within the each career cluster. The Resource Booklet discusses the following topics:

Historical background information

Cluster Knowledge and Skills

Pathway Knowledge and Skills

O*NET Crosswalk Report

Validation Studies

Assessment Protocol

Certification Protocol

The booklet is a “must-read” resource that provides in depth information on each career cluster. Each booklet has detailed graphs, charts, and tables.

Career Cluster Model

To provide an overview of Career Clusters, teachers and counselors use the Career Cluster Model. The Career Cluster Model simplifies sixteen (16) Career Clusters model. The center of the NCE Career Clusters model focuses on six (6) major groups. The career clusters are color-coded so that you can easily present six (6) major groups in classroom activities. The six (6) major groups are:

1. Environmental and Agricultural Systems

2. Business, Marketing, and Management

3. Communication and Information Systems

4. Industrial, Manufacturing, Engineering Systems

5. Health Sciences

6. Human Services and Resources

Here is summary of the relationship between the sixteen (16) Career Clusters and the 6 Super Clusters.

1. Environmental and Agricultural Systems

Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources (1)

2. Business, Marketing, and Management combines:

Business, Management & Administration (4)

Finance (6)

Hospitality & Tourism (9)

Marketing, Sales & Service (14)

3. Communication and Information Systems involve:

Arts, A/V Technology & Communication (3)

Information Technology (11)

4. Industrial, Manufacturing, Engineering Systems

Transportation, Distribution & Logistics (16)

Architecture & Construction (2)

Manufacturing (13)

Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (15)

5. Health Sciences

Health Science (8)

6. Human Services and Resources

Education & Training (5)

Government & Public Administration (7)

Human Services (10)

Law, Public Safety & Security (12)

The sixteen (16) Career Clusters systematically fit within the six (6) major groups.

Career Cluster Brochure

Another excellent career cluster student aid is the Career Cluster Brochure. The brochure is filled with photographs that show people performing the different jobs. With this easy-to-read booklet, students get an overview of the different careers, career clusters, and career pathways. Students read about:

What is a career cluster?

What is a career pathway?

What school subjects are important for a career in the … career cluster?

What is the educational or training requirement for a career in the … career cluster?

What are the necessary credentials for a career in the … career cluster?

What is the employment outlook for a career in the … career cluster?

What are some sample occupations?

Career Cluster Slices

Besides the Career Cluster Model and the Brochure, a third student Career Cluster aid is the NCE Career Cluster Slices. The NCE Career Cluster Slice identifies specific career opportunities found within each Career Pathways. Each Cluster Slice is illustrated and designed to explore areas, such as:

Cluster Description

Pathway Description

Cluster Knowledge & Skills

Career Field

Preparation for a Career in …

Examples of Education and Training Postsecondary Programs of Study

Students discover that each pathways leads to post-secondary options including:

Apprenticeships

Certificates

Licenses

Associate’s Degree Programs

Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Master’s Degree Programs

Doctoral Degree Programs

Professional Degree Programs

Career Clusters Plan of Study

At the beginning of the students’ middle school years, the students use assessments identify career cluster interest areas. With the Career Clusters model, brochure, Slices, and LISA resources, the students have explored the different careers and post-secondary training options. Students, teachers, counselors, and parents then use the Career Clusters Plan of Study to strategically plan the students’ high school course work. The Career Clusters Plan of Study provides examples of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, electives, and extra-curricular activities for the following grade levels:

7th – 8th grade

9th – 10th grade

11th – 12th grade

Examples of advanced coursework for postsecondary credit

The NCE Career Clusters web page is the gateway to the student career cluster resources.

State Career Clusters Initiative, NCE, and Lisa materials are just examples of career cluster resources. Career clusters resources have established a connection between school subjects and careers.

Resources:

Explore Career Clusters, Texas Workforce Commission/Career Development Resources (TWC/CDR), US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, and Louisiana Department of Labor

Nebraska Career Education, States’ Career Clusters Initiative, 2005, and NCTEF/NASDCTEc (National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium) States’ Career Clusters Initiative, & National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium

State Career Clusters Initiative Washington, DC: National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium, 2002

Most times I conduct my interviews as an employer right in front of the office door. ?When did you live school? Did you complete senior school? Are you computer literate? Are you Internet literate? Do you have an active email address? Do you have your CV with you? When the answer to the last three questions are no, I thank the visitor and release him/her. Even when I am looking for a cleaner I pose the same questions. As an employer, I have decided that my cleaners would be computer literate.

So what should the youth (young school leavers) do to attract employers? They should do these five things. They would be surprised about the kind of response they would get.

Acquire relevant computer skills today

Not every computer skill is relevant for basic office operations, though all skills are useful, not all would give you audience in most small offices. Such computer skill as programming, web designing, and computer maintenance are useful but no one looking for simple office job should start with them. If you are looking for a simple office job start with such computer skills as ms word, ms excel, and ms access database and internet operations. You must start with the basics and later build up your skill portfolio. Employers want people who can do basic office operations. If you are already working but not computer literate enroll in a part time computer program and upgrade your skills. Use your lunch time to learn something new and useful. I have seen many young men and women work in shops for years without becoming computer literate. If you must move up in our society today you must strain yourself. Use your time well; learn how to use computers.

Find out what Employers Want

Ask friends and relatives who are working what their day to day work involves, ask them what their employers expect from them and find out what skills are mostly required. Find out if they are having any setbacks because of what they can not do for their employers. Inquire from your relatives and friends who were recently hired what they were asked in their interviews. Find out from them what they did to get an interview. If you get these information and act on it, you would be in a better position to make yourself attractive to prospective employers. In addition, you would be surprised to know that most of your friends who were hired have almost all the aforementioned skills.

In summary, it is my conviction that every young person who has just completed senior school or has been at home for quiet some time without job, must not loose hope or despair. Rather what they should concern themselves with is what they should do to attract employers. This attraction of employers goes beyond good looks. You must be ready to acquire skills, skills that would set you apart from others when your CVs are considered by employers. Remember, serious organizations would look at your VC before inviting you for an interview. Your CV is what they see, not your looks. So enrich your CV with above mentioned relevant skills and employers would be compelled to invite you for a chat. Learn something today; spend money on your brain, not on your brawn.

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