Since the 1960s, career group resources have been used as career exploration and planning tools in schools, learning communities, and organizations across the country. Career Clusters is a system that combines educational and career planning.
Step 1: Identify Career Cluster Areas of Interest
Career groups 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 the Career Cluster Assessment. The assessment identifies the highest career cluster areas. Career Assessments show rankings of teens, college students, and adults from one of the following 16 interest areas or groups:
1. Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
2. Architecture and Construction
3. Arts, audiovisual technology and communication
4.Business, Management and Administration
5. Education and training
6. Finance
7. Government and Public Administration
8. Health Sciences
9. Hospitality and Tourism
10. Human Services
11. Information technology
12. Law, public security and protection
13. Manufacturing
14. Marketing, Sales and Service
15.Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
16. Transport, Distribution and Logistics
Step 2: Explore Career Clusters and Related Careers
After identifying the major career groups, teens, college students, and adults explore different careers and create educational plans. Career cluster tools used in career and educational planning include:
- LISA: a comprehensive database of racing groups
- Models
- brochures
- roads
- high school curriculum
- Areas of interest and skills
- crosswalks
After completing a career group assessment, teens, college students, and adults consult websites, career models, brochures, pathways, and high school plans. One of the most unique comprehensive career group resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an online program. LISA allows you to explore career groups, careers, skills, training requirements, and more. There are 3 steps in the LISA program:
STEP 1: Click here to select a race group
STEP 2: Click here to select a race group
STEP 3: Explore occupations within this career cluster
In Step 1, when you choose a race group, you will see a description of the group. When you select a race group in Step 2, you see different races. Finally, in Step 3, you will see a lot of information:
- job descriptions
- Educational and training requirements
- Pedestrian crossings, eg ONET, DOT, GOE and other codes
- Skills
- Knowledge
- skills
- Chores
- work values
- Labor market information
Although LISA is an amazing program, in the classroom or in the workshop, you need printed materials. When using printed materials, the career model is the best place to start. The templates provide excellent overviews listing group definitions, career examples, backgrounds, knowledge and skills. Visual models show groups of races, subgroups of groups, and related races. Models are a great way to introduce racing groups.
For presentations, workshops, and group discussions, Career Group brochures provide additional information. Adults and teens read about the different careers that are available in each career pool. Teachers, counselors, and parents use the booklets to solidify the career potential or educational decisions of adults and teens. The brochures cover topics such as:
- Definition of career groups
- Careers
- career paths
- job prospects
- skills
- Credentials
Teachers, counselors, and parents use the career paths to get more detailed information. Career paths are subgroups or areas of concentration within career groups. Each route contains race groups. Professional groups have similar academic skills, technical skills, educational requirements, and training requirements. Career Pathways are plans of study that outline required high school courses, post-secondary courses, and related careers. Career paths are essential tools that teachers, counselors, parents, and other adults use to provide advice on educational planning.
Several websites feature High School Curricula. These lesson plans show required, elective, and suggested courses for each grade level. School plans also match career clusters with related majors, career paths, and post-secondary options. Teachers, counselors, and parents find these school plans to be guides in selecting the right high school courses for potential careers. Beyond high school, the Utah System for Higher Education has created a Guide to College Careers. Parents, teachers, and counselors can use the guide to match college majors to degree and certificate programs.
Additional Resources for Counselors and Teachers
For curriculum planning and educational programs, there are detailed knowledge and skills charts and group crosswalks. Knowledge and Skills expand on the information listed in the career pool templates. For each knowledge and skill area, there are performance elements and metrics. The crosswalks show the relationships between the race groups and other race models:
Career groups build a bridge between education and career planning. There are different types of career group resources available: videos, websites, brochures, flyers, activity sheets, and workbooks. Teachers, counselors, and parents use resources from career groups to successfully complete career and educational planning.
Means:
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 Group, Adult and Postsecondary CTE Division, Office of Career and Technical Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, (717) 772-0814
Group and Career Videos, Career One Stop, US 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 Curricula, New Hampshire Department of Education, 101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301-3860, (603) 271-3494
Introduction to Career Groups, Professional Education, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, PO 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 Groups, Maryland State Department of Education 200 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201,
Rhode Island Career Groups, Rhode Island Career Resource Network, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-8790
School to Career Clusters, State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, Labor Exchange, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (860)754-5000
States Career Cluster Initiative (SCCI), 1500 W. Seventh Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074
Career pathway plans, career pool, knowledge and skills charts
VTECS Cluster Frames, VTECS, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA, 30033, 404-679-4501 ext 543
What are race groups? Career Prospects System, New Mexico Career Resource Network, CAREER TECHNICAL AND WORKPLACE EDUCATION OFFICE (CTWEB), Education Building, 300 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 827-6512