Thursday, September 27, 2007

Career Education Institutes

Career education essentially means vocational education that develops basic skills required to execute jobs in technical fields. There are many career education institutes that guide students who are looking for the right opportunities to enhance their careers.

Individuals exploring different fields of work, changing professions, or simply looking for a career description are briefed about different vocational careers. The counselors or qualified specialists at career education institutes inform potential students about various colleges and institutions imparting vocational courses that can prepare them for fruitful careers. They also enlighten students about financial aid programs from various sources and summer job programs - both locally and nationally.

Career education resources that offer an extensive assortment of circulating books, pamphlets, audiovisuals, electronic databases, software and periodicals. They assist students in dealing with job search strategies, resume and letter writing, making the right career choices, employment and academic test preparation. They conduct pre-employment tests to determine the skill and personality of the candidates to analyze whether they are fit for a particular job.

Career education institutes also provide assistance to people who are unhappy with their career or job choice. An assessment is done using a series of questions. Answers to the questions are evaluated and students are giving the appropriate advice to help them take effective steps in planning for a job or career change.

There are websites of vocational centers that provide details on career exploration, career and education, work opportunities, trade and technical schools and career related reference resources. People can register and seek necessary guidance from professionals. The sites also provide information on several career descriptions. They also give information on educational sites relating to a particular career such as tutorials, directories, industry news, glossaries and associated academics. Career education institutes have proved to be a boon for people on the look out for suitable jobs.

Career Education provides detailed information on Career Education, Career Education Online, Life Centered Career Education, Career Education Programs and more. Career Education is affiliated with Adult Continuing Education.



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Career Education: How It Can Propel Your Career Forward

Ongoing career education is something that can help separate from you other job searchers and in some cases might help to win you the job.

As a recruiter, I have worked with companies who won’t hire people without a university degree. In some cases, they specify the type of degree needed but in other cases, the company doesn’t care what the degree is in as long as you have one.

In other words, a lack of education can cost you. And you might not even realize it if the company doesn’t publicly admit this policy but simply lets their recruiters know about this particular form of screening.

When planning your career, education can certainly have an impact on your success or lack thereof.

Here are some ideas regarding various levels of education that might help to determine your long-term success in the workplace.

University/College Career Education

As mentioned above, some companies you apply to might require a Bachelor’s degree or college diploma and some might not even tell you up front that this is the reason you are being rejected. If you haven’t achieved this level of education and feel like it’s holding you back, you can do something about it. If you have a job, furthering your education through evening classes or online university training can be difficult to balance but it can be done. The long-term positive impact on your career can really make it worthwhile, too.

Post Graduate Career Education

If you have already have a university or college-level education, you might find that a further level of education can help take to a much higher level. Not only can a Masters degree or PhD level take you to a higher level of compensation – depending on your industry and existing level of experience of course – it can also help to project you to more senior positions that might otherwise be unattainable. If only getting such a degree was as easy as writing about it…Certainly, attaining a Masters or PhD level degree requires a special kind of person, a dedicated career-minded individual who no doubt clearly sees the value of education.

OK, let’s say that anything related to degrees or diplomas is just not an option for you. There are still plenty of great career education options you can look at:

Industry-Specific Career Education

A good example of industry education is the various platform-specific designations that Information Technology professionals can attain in areas such as computer networking, routers, wireless and Internet technologies. Often these designations will not only separate you from candidates who don’t hold a designation, it might be a requirement for actually applying for some jobs. Other examples of people who hold industry-specific designations are registered nurses and certified trainers.

Skills Training Career Education

There are a number of options you might consider such as computer training, presentation skills training, project management training, financial management training and assertiveness training just to name a few. If you can think of something about yourself that you’d like to improve, you can probably quickly find a course or some sort of training to take. Plus, taking training courses – especially if your employer pays for it – is a great way to keep active and network with others who might help your career.

Second Language Career Education

Getting a second (or third!) language under your belt can really make a difference in your career especially in the eyes of firms who look favorably at multilingual job candidates. If you work for a multinational corporation, a second or third language might open up job opportunities with this or other companies who operate globally. Often bilingual job candidates can be worth their weight in gold to a company.

During your career, education can often help to take your farther than you would otherwise have gone had you not achieved this level. As the above lists show, there are many options you can pursue to continue your education at any stage of your career.

Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional recruiter. Carl has helped many job searchers find their dream career and would like to help clear up some of the job search myths that exist while helping job searchers avoid common job search mistakes that cost them jobs.

Visit Carl's website to find your dream career: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com

Ezine editors/Webmasters: Please feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website. Please don’t change any of the content and please ensure that you include the above bio that shows my website URL. If you would like me to address any specific career topics in future articles, please let me know.



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Career Clusters, A Bridge Between Education and Career Planning

Since 1960s, career cluster resources have been used as career exploration and planning tools in schools, learning communities, and organizations across the nation. Career Clusters is a system that matches educational and career planning.

Step 1: Identifying Career Cluster Interest Areas

Career clusters are groups of similar occupations and industries. When teachers, counselors, and parents work with teens, college students, and adults, the first step is to complete career cluster assessment. The assessment identifies the highest career cluster areas. Career assessments show teens, college students, and adults rankings from one of the following 16 Interests Areas or Clusters:

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

Step 2: Exploring Career Clusters and Related Careers

After pinpointing the highest career clusters, teens, college students, and adults explore the different careers and create education plans. Career cluster tools used in career and educational planning include:

  • LISA: A comprehensive career cluster database
  • Models
  • Brochures
  • Pathways
  • High school plan of study
  • Interest and Skills Areas
  • Crosswalks

After completing a career cluster assessment, teens, college students, and adults look at web sites, career models, brochures, pathways, and high school plans. 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. There are 3 steps in the LISA program:

STEP 1: Click here to select a Career Cluster
STEP 2: Click here to select a Career Group
STEP 3: Explore Occupations within this Career Group

In Step 1, when you choose a career cluster, you will see a description of the cluster. When you select a career group in Step 2, you see different careers. Finally, in Step 3, you see a wealth of information:

  • Job descriptions
  • Educational and training requirements
  • Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE, and other codes
  • Abilities
  • Knowledge
  • Skills
  • Tasks
  • Work Values
  • Labor Market Information

Even though LISA is an awesome program, in classroom or workshop settings, you need printed materials. When using printed materials, the career model is the best place to start. Models provide excellent overviews listing the cluster definitions, sample careers, pathways, knowledge, and skills. Visual models show career clusters, the cluster subgroups, and related careers. Models are an excellent way to introduce career clusters.

For presentations, workshops, and group discussions, the career cluster brochures provide additional information. Adults and teens read about the different careers that are available in each career cluster. Teachers, counselors, and parents use the brochures to solidify adults’ and teens’ potential career or educational decisions. The brochures cover topics such as:

  • Definition of career clusters
  • Careers
  • Career pathways
  • Employment outlooks
  • Skills
  • Credentials

Teachers, counselors, and parents use career pathways for more detailed information. The career pathways are subgroups or areas of concentration within career clusters. Each pathway contains career groups. The career groups have similar academic skills, technical skills, educational requirements, and training requirements. Career pathways are plans of study that outline required secondary courses, post secondary courses, and related careers. The career pathways are essential tools that teachers, counselors, parents, and other adults use to give educational planning advice.

Several web sites feature High School Plans of Study. These study plans show required, elective, and suggested courses for each grade level. The school plans also match the career clusters to related careers, career pathways, and post-secondary options. Teachers, counselors, and parents find that these school plans are guides for selecting the right high school courses to match potential careers. Beyond high school, the Utah System for Higher Education has created a College Major Guide. Parents, teachers, and counselors can use the guide to match college majors to Certificate and Degree Programs.

Additional Resources for Counselors and Teachers

For planning curriculum and educational programs, there are detailed Knowledge and Skills Charts and Cluster Crosswalks. The knowledge and Skills expand upon the information listed on the career cluster models. For each knowledge and skill area, there are performance elements and measurement criteria. Crosswalks show the relationships between career clusters and other career models:

Career clusters build a bridge between education and career planning. Different types of career cluster resources are available: videos, web sites, booklets, brochures, 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 & Postsecondary CTE Division, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, (717) 772-0814

Cluster and Career Videos, Career One Stop, U.S. 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 Plans of Study, New Hampshire Department of Education, 101 Pleasant Street Concord, NH 03301-3860, (603) 271-3494 Introduction to Career Clusters, Career Education, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, P.O. Box 543 Blacklick, OH 43004-0544,

Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), customized Internet 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’s Career Clusters, Rhode Island’s Career Resource Network, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-8790

School to Career Clusters, State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, Job Bank, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (860)754-5000

States’ Career Clusters Initiative (SCCI), 1500 W. Seventh Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074 Career Pathway Plans, Career Cluster, 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


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The Role of Education in a Cooking Career

Tossing together a little dinner of amaretto shrimp almandine doesn’t overwhelm you. Stuffed puff pastries don’t faze you. You relish the thought of a career standing in front of a hot stove. You are not alone in wanting a culinary career.

The National Restaurant Association notes that an estimated 12.8 million people make the restaurant industry the second-largest industry next to government. Two million more jobs will be added by 2017 for a total of 14.8 people employed in the industry.

The increase is attributed to several factors. For one, more people return from trips to foreign lands where they tried exotic foods and liked what they ate. Secondly, those TV personalities who so casually flip crepes have shown how much fun gourmet cooking can be to watch and to prepare.

However, a formal culinary education is a must if you want to make cooking your career. Not only will you learn a wide variety of cuisines and different theories and techniques about foods with a degree or certificate from a culinary school, but you will also likely start in a higher position.

Of course, many people do train on the job, but the disadvantage is that you will be exposed to only one type of cuisine that the restaurant serves, and it will take you longer to learn all the techniques associated with the different jobs in a kitchen.

Culinary and hospitality schools offer students the theoretical foundation of cooking as well as hands-on classes in three major categories:

* culinary arts, which includes training in classical and contemporary techniques

* patisserie and baking, which teaches pastry and baking arts in breads, custards, confections, etc.

* hospitality and restaurant management, which prepares graduates with training in management, finances, communication, and business operations

You will also get the opportunity to work in a variety of environments. Many culinary schools have college food services and restaurants. Schools usually offer externships in local restaurants, giving you even more experiences.

When you graduate, you will be prepared for a career in any number of establishments, from restaurants, bakeries, corporate food-service departments to health-related institutions, as well as in the rapidly expanding fields of catering and food-to-go.