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Snyder High School students participated in a Reality Check activity as part of the Celebrate Careers program by Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas. Pictured are (l-r) Kevin Nguyen, Daniela Dominguez, Bethany Avalos, Aspen Reeves, Megan Garcia, Billy DeLao, Jorge Torres and Johnny Jamison.
Throughout February, Snyder ISD students learned about careers and employability through a new Workforce Solutions program called “Celebrate Careers.”
“Celebrate Careers is a month-long program that schools could sign up for so they could explore in-demand careers and employability skills with their students in February,” said Amanda Elston, Career & Education Outreach Specialist with Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas, based in Abilene. “The initial thought behind the program was to get regional students exposed to what careers are in demand in our area as well as getting them to think critically about their future and the decisions that go into choosing a career.”
Elston said the program is designed to be fun and engaging for students, while teaching valuable lessons.
“We wanted to do this in a fun way that students could engage with so we came up with the Celebrate Careers kits. The kits included three career-related games, weekly challenges like Dress for Success or take an Interest Profiler to see what careers might be best suited for you and your interests, decorations for the school, and some giveaways,” Elston said. The response has been great, she added.
“We didn't know exactly how it would turn out since this was the first year but we were blown away by our partnering schools' reactions to the kits,” she said.“We had a ton of schools send in pictures with their students playing games, participating in dress up challenges, and having fun with the items in the kit.”
Snyder ISD’s Work Based Learning Coordinator Jennifer Rosas said the Workforce Solutions activities have been good teaching tools.
“Celebrate Careers has enabled our students to have further discussions about what their life after high school will look like,” Rosas said. “They understand that everyone's will not look the same, but that there is a place for everyone. The activities provided by Workforce Solutions have been enjoyed by the students and a great way to have these conversations in a hands-on way, and brought up topics that were not previously thought of.”
Elston described the games in the kits provided by Workforce Solutions.
“We had three games that we included in the Celebrate Careers kit that were all career focused,” she said. “One of them was our Living Labor Market activity that taught students what the labor market was and what jobs were in demand in our area. We had Reality Check Simulation stations where students could go around and learn about the financial realities of living as an adult in the West Central Texas area. And then our Career Blocks game was really fun. With that one, the student rolls the dice, and then whatever color it lands on is the color block they have to pull from the tower. Once the pull the colored block off the tower, there is a corresponding colored card with a question that they have to answer and discuss with the class. Some of the questions had to do with the labor market, others had to do with interviews, and some were about choices they could make in high school to help with their future.”