Middle school is an essential time for our union to explore career possibilities with students. Exposure to AFSCME represented careers can expand the job paths students imagine for themselves. Career exploration can also help 6th, 7th, and 8th graders set goals, motivating their engagement in school.
Approaches
Career fairs or career days are a great way to introduce young people to a career in public service and our union. These events are often hosted by schools or community-based organizations who invite workers from multiple careers to talk with young people. Career days usually include scheduled presentations and activities while career fairs are typically less structured, with young people exploring information at exhibit tables and booths.
Although these career events are typically designed to share information with young people, the most successful events will also be engaging. To foster engagement, make presentations interactive and give young people the opportunity to discuss their interests, experiences, and goals. Create excitement at your events by utilizing visuals. If possible, bring tools, models, or work samples to the event. Photos are a great substitute if supplies are not logistically possible. You can even incorporate a game or online quiz you create around the information you are sharing. Offer union giveaways as prizes for answering a certain number of questions correctly.
To maximize the impact of your event, find ways to keep in touch with the people you connected with. Print our sample contact sheet or create a digital one to collect participant information. Or, consider partnering with educators to plan follow up activities.
Field trips offer an exciting way to introduce a large group of young people to careers in public service. Being on a job site may make career exploration more memorable than a classroom presentation. It is also a chance for you to impart a more in-depth understanding of job duties, working conditions and our union’s impact in the workplace. This will leave young people feeling more engaged and increase the likelihood they will consider a public service career path in the future.
Career-oriented field trips can also help young people feel more comfortable in workplace settings and further establish our union within the community. If our members work in places that already host field trips, like museums or state government buildings, consider partnering with these employers and educators to incorporate career exploration into their agenda. This can be as simple as offering a tour of staff areas or allotting time for an employee to discuss their career path, job duties and union membership.
Craft the field trip itinerary based on what is appropriate for your workplace and/or occupation(s) as well as the age range of your group. Here are a few suggestions of activities to consider:
- Workplace or Behind-the-Scenes tour
- Interactive/Hands-on
- Informational interviews with workers, especially our union members!
Tip: For large groups, divide and rotate them among activities to create a more personal, engaging experience.
Mentoring programs offer an engaging way to introduce young people to our union and a career in public service. Mentoring describes an ongoing relationship where mentors (union members or staff) provide guidance to mentees (young people). Mentors can be paired with individual youth or small cohorts of young people to share their public service experience, answer career questions, and discuss youth interests and goals. Successful mentor programs pair trusting, consistent relationships with strategic career exploration.
Mentoring programs offer a way to generate youth interest in the public sector while also reinforcing our union within the community, increasing our union’s visibility, support, and power. There are many ways to structure mentorship programs to align with your capacity, industry needs and youth interests. You can also partner with an existing mentorship program in your community (see the Partners tab for suggestions). Pairing mentorship programs with job shadowing or field trips creates even more opportunities for career exposure.
Job shadowing programs give young people the opportunity to observe a “day in the work life” of their host. In one-on-one pairings, a shadow learns about their host’s career through direct observation, opportunities to ask questions and hands-on experiences when appropriate. These programs offer career exposure that can be influential in future career decision-making, especially when the shadow’s experiences are engaging.
Consider creating a union job-shadow program where young people can shadow AFSCME members or staff to learn more about public service and collective power. Be sure to plan activities for hosts and their shadows and create a program structure that aligns with our union’s goals. If a workplace you represent already has a job shadowing program, consider how our union can support this program and improve the experience for AFSCME members and the young people shadowing them.
Download our guidance on Planning a Job Shadowing Day to see a sample agenda and get ideas for your own event.
Partners
Teachers’ unions share our commitment to worker power and expanding prospects for students’ futures. Local teachers’ unions offer expertise on education systems and can provide information about existing career development initiatives across school districts. Teachers’ unions can also introduce you to educators who can help you connect with students by…
- scheduling career exploration events or activities at their schools
- coordinating curricula with outreach activities
- providing insights on student skills and interests
- coordinating class projects
Tip: Be mindful of how your youth outreach and engagement activities might increase workloads for educators. Center student and teacher experience when collaborating with teachers’ unions.
School boards and administrators are useful partners, as any school-sponsored activities or events will typically require their approval. School boards and administrators can connect you with educators, student organizations, and career development initiatives in their school system. They can also provide useful information about their school or district, such as linguistic diversity, existing resources and common barriers students face. Discuss ways your outreach can strengthen student outcomes with these partners. Affiliates with broader geographic jurisdiction may consider partnering with school boards or administrators across the region to maximize the number of youths reached and ensure equitable access to opportunities.
Tip: Be mindful of any costs that might be associated with your outreach activities (e.g., transportation for field trips). Low- or no-cost activities ensure more equitable access to career exploration for students.
Parents, families and guardians play an important role in the lives of youth, making their partnership crucial for engaging young people in career exploration. Expanding the circle of support for youth can benefit all career exploration approaches and can be especially important for experiences like internships or job shadowing programs where youth might be reliant on adults for transportation.
When parents, families or guardians are informed and involved, they can encourage youth to pursue career exploration opportunities. Keeping them informed is essential, so make information accessible and readily available with content from flyers to websites offered in multiple languages. Remember, many members are parents and guardians themselves, so involve them in establishing connections with youth through their children’s schools, clubs and programs.
Tip: Remember, young people may have different goals for themselves than the adults in their lives. Find ways to center youth autonomy while meeting the needs of those caring adults.
From independent local programs to chapters of the Boys & Girls Club, community-based organizations and after–school programs offer excellent ways to connect with youth. Partnering with these organizations allows you to reach school-age youth outside of the classroom. Consider which age groups an organization serves when planning your outreach. Successful activities can range from career days to field trips. Programs designed to focus on mentorship or to be safe spaces for youth of diverse backgrounds can make great partners! Some organizations may already incorporate career exploration into their programming. Even programs not specifically youth–oriented may be able to connect you with young people in your community, so be sure to talk with your union’s current community partners. Once you have established a solid relationship with a community-based organization or after-school program, consider partnering with multiple organizations to expand your reach.
After establishing youth outreach and engagement efforts, young people can be extremely useful partners, too. Youth who are already engaged with your union can provide insights on how to improve your strategies and structures. This is especially true for young people who have participated in programs like job shadowing or internships. Recognizing the utility of youth feedback is an essential step in youth engagement. Young people can also connect their peers with your union and public service career information.
Note: If you engage youth as partners in outreach, be sure to acknowledge their contributions and provide support throughout their involvement. Recognition could be a stipend, official title, or gift card depending on the level of youth involvement.
Partnering with employers expands the possibilities for career exploration. Employer partnership may be necessary to schedule worksite activities from field trips to hiring events. Although we may not always agree, collaborating with employers on youth outreach goals can be mutually beneficial and improve or strengthen our relationships. Let youth outreach and engagement be an area of common ground.
Download our Partnership Planning Tools for guidance on identifying, assessing and establishing partnerships. Use tools like our Potential Partner Assessment Form, Establishing Partnerships Checklist, and Partnership Outreach Templates to get started.
Tips
- Create excitement! Be enthusiastic about the information you’re sharing and get creative with how you share it.
- Be flexible! Plan backup activities and be prepared to make tweaks to your presentation or activities based on time constraints and youth interest.
- Ask questions! Create opportunities for youth to discuss their interests and goals.
- Focus on youth, not the adults in the room. No matter who asks a question, address your answers to the entire group, not one person.
- Use clear and concise language. Avoid or define industry jargon.
- Looking for a fun way to define industry jargon? Try our game “Learning Lingo, Sharing Slang.”
- Be prepared for student questions. Leave time for students to ask questions and plan responses for work-related and personal inquiries such as…
- How much money do you make? Discuss entry-level salaries and opportunities for growth. Bring a contract and explain wage scales.
- How much vacation time do you have? Again, refer to contracts and explain how seniority helps determine vacation time in unionized workplaces.
- Are you married? Do you have children? Decide what information you want to share with youth and how you will respond to these questions.
- Options! Options! Options! Empower and engage youth by offering choices whenever possible.
- Allowing youth to choose between activities ranging from writing to art to public speaking will allow youth to showcase their strengths through activities they find the most interesting!
- Use technology to your advantage! Make technology a tool instead of a distraction by planning activities such as online quizzes or competitions that utilize phones, tablets, or computers.
- Note: Plan ways to include youth without technology. It is likely at least one person forgot their device or didn’t charge it.
- Plan interactive activities! Break up presentations with activities to engage students. Middle school students will disengage if you talk at them for more than 5 to 8 minutes.
- Create opportunities for peer-to-peer connection! Plan small group activities or ask students to “pair and share.” Peer-to-peer connection can sustain engagement and contribute to youths’ sense of belonging.
- Link the classroom to the workplace. Connect skills and knowledge developed in the classroom to public service careers. Work with educators to determine what skills students have been developing.
- Incorporate movement! Students in middle school are often full of energy – creating opportunities for movement will make activities more memorable and give students a chance to release extra energy.
- Use objects and visuals. Concrete examples can help middle school students understand abstract concepts.
- Be prepared for disruptions and don’t be discouraged by them. Reengage students by asking them to share their experiences or help you with the presentation.
- If unsuccessful, you can discreetly ask for the teacher’s support or politely ask the student to take a break from the presentation.
Contact Us
We are here for you!
Please contact us if you have a question, concern, or request regarding workforce development.
research@afscme.org