Career Awareness activities at the elementary and middle school help expand student understanding of the world of work by identifying career pathways and specific occupations within them, developing respect for workers in all fields, locating and researching information about specific occupations, and developing an initial understanding of educational and training requirements. Continuing this awareness process, high school students need to be provided current, comprehensive, and in-depth information about careers, including detailed descriptions of typical duties, responsibilities, and tasks, projections on employment openings (local, state and national), an understanding of working conditions, current income and benefits ranges, educational requirements and opportunities, and opportunities for advancement. Career fairs and other opportunities to interview workers/experts in various fields provide students the benefit of questioning and learning from adults with current first-hand experiences. Career Awareness activities also provide students with a better understanding of the changing nature of careers due to technological advances, the impact of a global economy, and the anticipation of the need for individuals to change careers several times during the course of a lifetime.

Career Exploration focuses on learning about the characteristics of various career options through investigation that involves direct and hands-on experiences. The process typically begins in elementary and middle school with activities that include interviewing workers and experimenting with work tasks from various career pathways and occupational categories to provide insight into the characteristics of these occupations as well as personal interests and strengths. In high school, emphasis is placed on further understanding career pathways, exploring employment opportunities and future trends, and engaging in activities that are individualized on the basis of a learner’s interests, aptitudes, and preferences. For most people, the career exploration process continues throughout a person’s educational and work life.

Career Awareness/Exploration Standard and Benchmarks
Standard
The participating education agency board of education or designee will have adopted a comprehensive, planned, and sequential program of Career Awareness and Exploration activities for all K-12 students at all grade levels that informs students about broad career areas and individual career options.

Benchmarks
· The local board of education or designee will have adopted a career awareness and exploration program that meets the state standard.

· Ensures that a variety of career informational resources are available at elementary, middle, and high school levels, including the Michigan Occupational Information System (MOIS) and/or similar comprehensive career information systems, to introduce students to career options representative of all career pathways as evidenced by career resource inventories.

· Ensures that students are provided experiential activities involving active, direct, and/or hands-on learning that focus on tasks of various careers as evidenced by curriculum plans, guides and teaching/learning activities.

· Ensures that instructional units and activities on careers are incorporated into the curriculum at all grade levels as evidenced by curriculum guides, instructional materials and the involvement of business/industry, parents, and community as resources.

· Ensures that middle and high school students are assisted in making connections with workers/experts in career pathways through school-based and work-based learning programs as evidenced by documented student participation records.