Careers in the trades are increasingly attractive in our age of technology and knowledge management which have enhanced traditional occupations and created new ones. Students in the Exploration of Vocational Training program (Explo) have an opportunity to do a self-assessment for a career in the trades, and discover which trades would be a good fit for them. In addition, they will visit technology training centres, learn about academic paths to the trades, and get some hands-on experience. Teacher resources to guide students on their exploration of vocational training are under the links below.

Teaching and Learning Tools includes the material created by LEARN, the DEEN-CREATE sub-committee, and the Career Development teaching community. It includes the Graphic Organizers and Activities, Getting Started, brief videos which will walk you through the KEP process, and a placemat that lays out the KEP process on a single page. Professional Learning includes material from webinars, workshops, and conferences, as well as information about upcoming PD events. Curated Resources consists of links (with brief descriptions) to useful, vetted external resources. Finally, the MEQ Resources section includes links to the program documents, the frameworks for the evaluation of learning, and other related resources co-created by the Ministry.

Career Community News

Career Community News* highlights school and community activities, events, and projects related to the Career Development subject area, as well as information, resources, tips, and tools for teachers of POP, Explo, and EN.

Please report any broken links immediately to the website coordinator
For information about the Explo please contact Marsha Gouett

*Career Community News is published by DEEN-CREATE in collaboration with Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (MEQ), Direction du soutien au réseau éducatif anglophone (DSREA), and is funded by MEQ through contributions from the Canada-Québec Agreement on Minority Language Education and Second-Language Instruction. coming soon . . .

Teaching and Learning Tools

Numerous resources have been developed for teaching Explo, especially Graphic Organizer templates, Activities templates, a "placemat" that captures the KEP highlights on a single page, Getting Started (What am I supposed to teach and evaluate?,  What does Explo student work look like?, and How do I put these pieces into a term plan?), and a 5-minute video that guides you through the KEP process.

Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer (GO) is a visual learning tool that helps students organize their thoughts, either alone or in a group. A graphic organizer visually chunks a task into manageable segments or steps, guiding a student to think through each step in the process. In terms of artifacts, GOs make visible the invisible thinking processes a student uses at various points in a career exploration. Completed graphic organizers become evidence, artifacts, of student learning as they are engaged in their various tasks. These artifacts represent the learning processes students engage in. The graphic organizer resources are available in two formats:

PDF - Intended to be printed and completed by hand

Word - Intended to be downloaded to be completed in Word

*Please note that these documents are copyright protected and cannot be altered. The purpose of the Microsoft Word version is to allow the user to type directly into the text boxes of the document and save an electronic copy.

Activities

Activities are targeted, purposeful teaching and learning moments. They usually lead into, or are timely, to where students are in an exploration process or in a project. Activities can be completed in a short period of time. They should not stand alone; the activity completed should be put into the context of student work. They target specific key features, and program content. Activities target one phase of the learning and evaluation process, but may touch on other phases. Activities are context independent; context is provided by student explorations and/or projects. They often leave traces of learning, or student work, which facilitates the evaluation process. Activities build competency.

Know Yourself More

  • Graphic Organizers

  • Activities

    • Building a Vocational Profile - PDF 
    • Know Yourself More Collage - PDF

    • Determining Vocational Training Programs to Explore - PDF

Explore

Ponder

  • Graphic Organizers

  • Activities

    • Household Item and the Trades - PDF
    • Validating Sources in the Explo Classroom - PDF
    • Breaking Down Myths - PDF
    • Breaking Down Gender Myths - PDF
    • Determining Vocational Training Programs to Explore - PDF

Getting Started with EXPLO

  • The KEP Placemat. Download

  •  
  • Q. 1 What am I supposed to teach and evaluate?

    • There are 2 competencies in EXPLO
      Competency 1 | The student...explores vocational training.
      Competency 2 | The student...contemplates his/her suitability for vocational training.
      Graphic Organizers and Activities build KEP competencies.

    • Watch the KEP video for an overview of the KEP Learning and Education Process.

    • Use the Framework for Evaluation of Student Learning. Go to site
      See New Orientations in Evaluation and Reporting, 2011 (PPT) Download

    • Checklists: Checklists contain evaluation criteria that describe the expectations for a task or a collection of artifacts. The expectations are those of the program and guided by the teacher’s knowledge of the development of the two competencies as well as the evaluation criteria from the Evaluation Frameworks document. The teacher uses questioning to guide students in identifying criteria. Criteria are stated in simple language so that students and teachers are clear on the expectations and share a common language.

      The criteria in the checklists below are for example purposes only. Please download the files, and change the criteria to those established with your students. The document Building criteria | Brainstorm Criteria as a class will help you do this. Download

      Know yourself more Word PDF
      Explore Word PDF
      Ponder Word PDF

    • Reflection Questions: Reflection, in its simplest form can be defined as the act of seeing one’s own work or of making visible the invisible internal processes used when engaged in competency development.

      Know Yourself More Word PDF
      Explore Word PDF
      Ponder Word PDF
      End-of-year questions Word PDF
      Reflection - Learn more Download

    • Table of Competency Development: The developmental table provides a place to document student competency development in a more global fashion. Download

  • Q. 2 What does student in Explo look like? (LEF)
    • Introduction to Anthony's Learning and Evaluation File (LEF) Download
    • Anthony's work sample collection for term one Download
       
  • Q. 3 How do I put these pieces into a Term 1 plan?
    • Step 1 Count the dates when you will see your students in term 1 before marks are due.
    • Step 2 Identify your evaluation criteria, methods of evaluation and evaluation moments.

      • From Framework
        Relevant planning
        Effective implementation of a career exploration process
        Relevant reflection

        Specific criteria established with students
        1-Know Yourself More
        1-Explore
        1-Ponder

        Selections
        3 Checklists
        Feedback
        4 on reflections
        4 on activities
        1 activity
        Conference
        1 conference near end of term
        4 Reflections (selected out of 8 completed)
        4 Activity-related (selected from total of 6 Activities completed)

    • Step 3 Select activities across KEP

      4 Activities
      Know Yourself More: Building a Vocational Profile
      Explore: Planning for Job-Shadowing - Building Criteria
      Ponder: Breaking Down Gender Myths and Vocational Training Myths
      Reflection questions throughout

    • Step 4 Fill in other resources or information that students will require

Watch this five-minute video on KEP essentials.

Professional Learning

This section includes relevant workshops, webinars, conferences, newsletters, and other resources for learning to teach Career Development.

CERIC Cannexus22, January 24-26, 2022 and reflection on February 4, 2022

Click the image to go to the CERIC site

The Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC) annual conference is now fully virtual. Go to site  

LCEEQ 13th Annual Conference, February 7-8, 2022

Click the image to go to the LCEEQ conference site.

LCEEQ Conference 2022, "The Reflective Practioner" will provide the opportunity for reflection and collegial exchange on a number of issues including: a deeper understanding of learning, how the curriculum should enhance such, the role of assessment, equity, and diversity, optimizing technology, and the importance of health and well-being for all. Go to site 

QPAT October 14 & 15, 2021

Click the image to go to the QPAT website

An evening with Margaret Atwood
Preliminary list of confirmed workshops available. Check the QPAT site for further details. Go to site 

LCEEQ 12th Annual Conference, February 2021 – Online

If there was one thing we learned, it was that we need to be more sensitive to what is happening around the world and that our students at all levels need to develop a world view. LCEEQ had decided prior to the Covid-19 shutdown to focus on the theme, “Global Commitment Through Local Action” given that many of our members were moving in that direction.

Click the image

Workshop on the Frameworks for Evaluating Student Learning

New Orientations in Evaluation and Reporting (effective July 1, 2011) PPT. Download

Career Development Newsletter Archives

The Career Development and Work-Oriented Training Program Info (CDI) newsletter targeted educators in POP, Explo, EN and WOTP. It has helped keep educators connected with the anglophone education community, classroom pedagogy, technology, resources available, upcoming professional development opportunities, and so much more.

  • 2013-2014

    • Spring 2014, No. 15 Download
    • Fall 2013, No. 14 Download

  • 2012-2013

    • Spring 2013, No. 13 Download
    • Fall 2012, No. 12 Download

  • 2011-2012

    • Spring 2012, No. 11 Download
    • Fall 2011, No. 10 Download

  • 2010-2011

    • April 2011, No. 9 Download
    • February/March 2011, No. 8 Download
    • January 2011, No. 7 Download
    • November 2010, No. 6 Download
    • October 2010, No. 5 Download
    • September 2010, No. 4 Getting started Download

  • 2009-2010

    • Spring/Summer 2010, No. 3 Download
    • Winter 2010, No. 2 Download
    • Fall 2009, No. 1 Download

MELS Information Bulletin Archives

Info POP-EXPLO-EN bulletins targeted the English sector educational community in order to share news, information, project development, and so on, whether related to the work of the program team or the evaluation team.

  • Info POP-Explo-EN Volume 5, number 1, Fall 2012 Download
  • Info POP-Explo-EN Volume 4, number 1, Fall 2011 Download
  • Info POP-Explo-EN Volume 3, number 2, Spring 2011 Download
  • Info POP-Explo-En Volume 2, number 3, Spring 2010 Download
  • Info POP-Explo-EN Volume 2, number 2, Winter 2010 Download
  • Info POP-Explo-EN Volume 2, number 1, Fall 2009 Download

Updated: January 19, 2022

Curated Resources

This section includes resources external to MEQ and LEARN that have been vetted by teachers and consultants to ensure their relevance.

The Right Job for You (Heading for Success)(Emploi Québec): This site presents a selection of the best job opportunities across Quebec. Discover opportunities in Health and Social Services, Construction, and Information Technology. "Find the job that suits you:" The database is searchable by RAISEC profiles: realistic, investigative, artisitic, social, enterprising, or conventional. Profile combinations are determined based on skills, fields of interest and certain personality traits. Go to site

InforouteFPT: In collaboration with Emploi Québec provides comprehensive information on Vocational and Technical Training (VTT). Go to site

Xello: This is a bilingual K-12 education software company. Students can "document their journey as they build self-knowledge, explore post-secondary options, create plans, and continually reassess as they take in new knowledge, skills, and experiences." Ask your guidance counsellor whether your school or school board has purchased a licence. Go to site 

myBlueprint: This is a bilingual K-12 education software company. The "Education Planner" covers grades 7-12 post-secondary. myBlueprint is "a comprehensive education and career/life planning program with the tools students need to make the most informed decisions about their future." Ask your guidance counsellor whether your school or school board has purchased a licence. Go to site 

Career Cruising: This education planning software is the forerunner to Xello. Career Cruising is relates to the POP process: Know Yourself, Plan, On-Task and Ponder. Your students can: explore their interests and learning styles; create their own personal career plan; store their assessment results; investigate careers and education; build their own career plan and more. Ask your guidance counsellor whether your school or school board has purchased a licence. Go to site 

Labour Market Information (LMI) (Information sur le marché du travail – IMT) (Emploi Québec): Here you will "Find a trade or occupation," Find a training program," Find out about a sector or activity," or "Find a business."  Go to site

Careersintrades.com
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum-Forum canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA) promotes apprenticeship as an effective model for training and education. Careersintrades covers: "Why the Trades? What’s an Apprenticeship? Where do I start? Resources" and includes apprenticeship programs. Go to site 

Skills/Compétences Canada (SCC): The SCC mission is "to encourage and support a coordinated Canadian approach to promoting skilled trades and technologies to youth." The Government of Canada and other national and international agencies have identified and validated nine key essential skills for the workplace. SCC also conducts programs and holds competitions throughout the year. Go to site 

National Occupational Classification (NOC): The NOC provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counselors, employers and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work. The NOC is used for defining and collecting statistics, managing information databases, analyzing labour market trends, and extracting practical career planning information. Go to site

AdmissionFP (Inforoute FPT, managed by Compétences Québec): Training programs displayed in AdmissionFP come from the Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur database and the offers of service relative to each program are remotely offered and managed by the educational organizations concerned. (Formerly known as SRAFP (Service régional d'admission en formation professionnelle),. Go to site

Éducaloi Teaching Guides: The free teaching guides enable teachers to create their own law-related learning activity. They vary in length and in target audience. Most of them are also available in French, and can be used to teach French as a second language. Refer to the attached table which provides the title of the guide, the level, the applicable subject areas, an adapted introduction, and a link to each guide. Download

Career Bullseyes by myfuture (Australia’s National Career Information Service, managed by Education Services Australia (ESA)): Careers are placed within a 4-level target. The outer level shows the career options which require the highest level of education, while the innermost level shows those with the least. Sign-in is required to use this tool. Go to site

Contact us if you have resources to share for Explo.

 

Updated: December 15, 2021

MEQ Resources

MEQ Program Documents (PDF on MEQ site) Go to site

Framework for the Evaluation of Learning (PDF on MEQ site) Go to Site

Facilitate and encourage access to vocational training: MEQ, Path 12 of "13 Paths to Success." Go to site