Career Forums and Career Cafes are specially designed events for
students that:
Invite successful professionals who represent
students' unique career interests to participate in discussions with the students.
For Career Forums, the discussions have a panel format; for Career Cafes,
they have a round-table format.
Create an environment where students and
speakers engage in open discussions concerning the speakers' careers
and what it takes to succeed.
Provide students with preparation
exercises that ensure high-quality discussion with speakers.
Place students and speakers together in small
groups. In Career Forums, classrooms of students talk with panels of 5
to 8 professionals; In Career Cafes, tables are used, where each table seats
5 to 10 students together with 2 to 4 professionals. Many of these
discussions can take place simultaneously, thus serving entire
grades.
Have two or three sessions, each about 40 minutes long (length often
depends on bell schedule). By participating in
several sessions, students learn about a variety of careers.
Take about two months to organize, allowing time to survey the career
interests of the students and find volunteers to represent those interests.
Survey the perceptions of students,
teachers, and speakers after the event, and provide a summary report that school
leaders use to evaluate and demonstrate the event's success.
Produce a powerful year-round resource for other
school-to-career programs through a Directory of Speakers. This
Directory lists all speakers who offered to be available to
students in additional ways, such as job shadowing, mentoring,
company visits, internships, and employment. Typically, over
80% of the participating speakers offer to be available to
students in other ways.
Why host a Career Forum or Career Cafe?
They give students access to successful local professionals
who want to share their insights and experiences.
They expand students' awareness of the opportunities available
to them.
They provide opportunities to discuss important questions
about achieving success that students may not otherwise
get.
They can produce immediate internship and employment
opportunities for students.
They can dramatically increase the human resources available
for school-to-career activities.
They are an excellent way to involve parents and the community
at large in a positive and enjoyable school activity.
Career Forums and
Career Cafes receive consistently positive press
coverage.
Students and volunteers enjoy them!
What does Education Transfer do?
Education Transfer streamlines Career Event design and
implementation, and dramatically reduces the
demands placed upon leadership and staff, through:
Consultations with school leaders to design both the
event and a plan of action for producing it.
Complete management of logistical arrangements, such as the
proper placement of students and speakers at the event.
Comprehensive printed materials for preparing students,
speakers, and staff.
Recruiting services that attract successful professionals who
represent the students' unique career interests.
Administration, evaluation, and summarization of surveys
completed by students, speakers and staff.
Creating a Directory of Speakers which lists all Career Event
attendees who, in their surveys, offered to help students in
additional ways, such as job shadowing, mentoring,
internships, and job opportunities.