What is the Career Studies Pilot Program?

The Career Studies Pilot Program is a joint venture between The Learning Partnership’s Passport to Prosperity program and the Dufferin/Peel Catholic District School Board that took place during the spring semester of 2004.

The three participating secondary schools were:

• Father Michael Goetz Secondary School in Mississauga
• Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School in Caledon East
• St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School in Mississauga, a secondary school that offers a Career Path program to the special needs student population that is part of their student body.

In the Career Studies Pilot Program, different local employers came into each school to give a career talk every other week and over the course of the semester, each class went out on at least one workplace tour, and in some cases up to four workplace tours. The tours were combined with a career talk for students at the workplace.

The Program Objectives were:

• to broaden the career aspirations and knowledge of students by providing exposure to many different types of careers and workplaces
• to enhance the Grade 10 Career Studies course by bringing in outside career speakers and arranging workplace tours of local businesses
• to develop a successful model for the Grade 10 Career Studies course that can be shared with other schools and across different school boards
• to offer local employers the chance to raise their community profile, share information about their industry and provide staff development

Students benefited from hearing about careers in a wide variety of fields. Representatives from Bell Mobility, St. John’s Ambulance, Hilton Airport Hotel, Grocery Gateway, Medisys Health Group Inc., AEC Daily, and Mimico Correctional Institute all volunteered their time to visit schools and gave excellent and informative career talks. Spider Jones, Skilled Trades Ambassador for Ontario, gave inspirational addresses at all three participating schools. Canada Post Sorting Office, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Canadian Tire in Mississauga, the Honda Plant in Alliston, the University of Guelph, and the Erin Meadows Long Term Care facility all hosted Workplace tours and on-site Career Talks.

For further information about the Pilot program, contact the Passport to Prosperity program at 416-440-5113 or Jean Courtney at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board at 905-890-0708.