Work is a “necessary evil”:Everyone has to do it, but

what, exactly, is it?

Key definitions from the world of work:

Work – an activity done to produce or accomplish something (i.e. studying, reading, cleaning, employment tasks).

Job – something you do to earn money (may be full or part-time, temporary or “permanent”. Hours may be fixed or flexible depending on nature of work).

Career – a series of jobs, usually in the same, or related fields (i.e. teaching, tutoring, coaching, Dean’s Assistant)

• A career ladder – a sequence of work in a career field from entry to advanced levels...

One possible career route:College Professor of Fashion Design

(Master’s/PhD)Chief Fashion designer in corporate business

(Bachelor’s)Fashion designer associate

(Associate’s)Fashion store salesperson

(High School Diploma)Sales assistant in clothing store

(GED)

Note: beware of “the snakes”.

Provisions and influences of work

Income - the amount of money a person receives for doing a job (Generally, higher qualifications = higher income)

Needs – the basics a person must have to live. (i.e. food, accommodation, clothing) Your income must at least cover these.

Wants – the items a person would like to have, but are not required. A higher paying job can provide for these (i.e. foreign vacation, SUV, stylish clothes)

Provisions and influences of work continued…

Identity – what distinguishes you as an individual (how you and others see you). Are you caring? If so, maybe a career in healthcare or teaching might be right for you. Are you self-motivated? Maybe you want to be the boss or your own boss and have your own business?

Lifestyle – how you live your life (the type of job you have and money you earn from it influences the hours available to you and what you can do with them in your free time)

Self-esteem – the level of confidence someone has in him/herself. Does your job challenge, satisfy you and make you grow or is it simply a way to earn money for your basic needs?

Tasks:

1.Complete the vocabulary crossword (Note: you will need to look at the word boxes on pages 29 & 33 of “Learning for Earning” to answer 8 and 12 across).2.Complete questions 1&2, 4-6 on the worksheet entitled, “Your thoughts on work”. (Refer to pages 22 – 27 of the textbook if you need to).

The economy and how we fit in:

The economy is the way goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed in society. “We” fit in as follows:

We work for businesses Businesses pay us

Other business provide us with products and services

We pay for products and services from other business

Workplace competencies: the skills needed for workplace effectiveness and success. These come in two parts as follows:

Foundation skillsBasic skills – the ability to express your thoughts and communicate with others (i.e. reading & writing, speaking & listening, math)Thinking skills – the ability to develop ideas and solve problems Personal Qualities – the way you work and the kind of worker you are (i.e. are you responsible, sociable, self-motivated, self-managed, reliable or do you need constant supervision?)

Workplace competencies: Effective workers (in the 21st Century) are able to use the following in the most appropriate ways:

Resources – Managing time, space, material, money available and other workers effectively.

Interpersonal skills – Leading, working with others as a team, teaching others, working with customers and co-workers from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Information – acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining records, using computers to process information.

Systems – Understanding, monitoring and improving social, organizational and technological systems

Technology - Selecting, applying and maintaining (trouble-shooting, if necessary) appropriate technological tools most appropriate to the task(s) in hand.

Note the heavy slant on computer technology.

Tasks: 1. Create a handout to be given to your classmates summarizing 2 or 3

careers, giving examples of where and how you would use each of the transferable skills (workplace competencies) previously mentioned. You should illustrate each component as necessary in order to make it more striking and memorable.

2. Choose one career that particularly interests you and research it by going to the website below, typing the name of the career in the search box and following the instructions on the “Career Research” worksheet that you will be given:

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

Workplace competencies are transferable skills: they can readily be transferred from one career to another.

Workplace competenciesin everyday teaching

Basic skills – Reading material to be covered in lessons and putting it into a teachable format. Writing reports. Speaking to the class. Listening to the needs of parents and students. Calculating percentages and grades.

Thinking skills – Problem-solving on a daily basis. Creating lessons that are instructional and interesting

Personal Qualities – Having the ability to get along with students, parents and co-workers. Being organized, dedicated to one’s work and prepared to do what is necessary to complete short and long term projects. Having a caring, but authoritative persona.

Effective teachers use the following appropriately:

Resources –

Using materials, money and time

available to plan and deliver an effective curriculum Interpersonal skills –

Being able to work as part

of a team as well as individually. Being able to gain respect of students, parents and col-workers

Information –

Acquiring and evaluating data on students, organizing and maintaining records, using computers to process information.

Systems – Understanding, monitoring and improving classroom dynamics. Using technological systems to inform parents of curriculum developments and student progress (e-school, e-mail, website, report cards etc.)

Technology - Using technology as a support for teaching and learning (i.e. power point presentations, production of worksheets to drive student learning, internet use for student research etc.)