Through a guest speaker activity, a  group of students listen to a presentation to learn about the speaker’s organization, careers and industry and ask questions to help them consider whether they might like to pursue a career in the industry.

An industry or employer partner visits a virtual classroom as a guest speaker and provides a presentation on the speaker’s career, business or organization and industry. Students ask questions to help them consider whether they might like to pursue a career in the industry.

An online recording of a guest speaker is used as a foundation for an activity and discussion in the classroom.

After recording a session arrange for the guest speaker to return to the virtual classroom for a short amount of time to answer specific questions from a new group of students. Play the recording prior to the speaker’s visit.

Through a career day, business partners from a variety of companies come together at a school to share information about their company, their job and the education and skills required for success in careers in the industry.

Host an interactive, online career day where employers visit a classroom or classrooms virtually. After a panel presentation, students visit individual industry partners in breakout rooms. At the end of the session, the class comes back together to share what they’ve learned and reflect on the activity

Schedule a number of industry partners to visit the virtual classroom or set of classrooms throughout a school day.

Combine a brief Guest Speaker activity followed by a group informational interview.

Have students conduct online research on a range of careers in an industry of interest, gather information, find compelling recorded presentations on careers in the industry and have them share their findings in the virtual classroom.

Consider making it a team-based activity and have a small group of students work together and prepare a presentation for the rest of the class or pathway cluster.

Record a career day panel and use it as a basis for a virtual classroom activity.

If possible, have one or more of the career day panelists visit the virtual classroom to share information and answer questions.

Through career mentoring, a student is matched one-on-one or in small groups with an adult professional to explore potential careers and related educational issues.

Students who are currently paired with a Career Mentor may continue to receive support via telephone or some other technology if the necessary permissions, protections and guidance are in place to promote student safety.

Through a workplace tour, small groups of students visit a workplace, learn about the business, meet employees, ask questions and observe work in progress. Teachers also benefit from exposure to the workplace.

Some employers may be in a position to conduct a virtual tour of their workplace, perhaps as part of a scheduled Guest Speaker activity.

Through an Informational interview, a student formally interviews an employer partner about his or her industry, educational and career path and chosen profession.

A student formally interviews an Industry Partner over the phone or internet about his or her industry, educational and career path, and chosen profession.

• Students review a prerecorded interview with an industry professional in the virtual classroom and engage in a guided discussion after the interview.
• Consider having students conduct online research to locate prerecorded interview session with employers and use those on the classroom.

A model where small groups interview an industry partner via Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or some other technology; and record the session to then use to form the foundation for a classroom activity and discussion.

Through a job shadow, a student is paired with an employee of a host company and follows that employee during much of a regular workday. A job shadow provides students the opportunity to experience the workplace, understand the various roles and duties of a particular occupation, learn about the business, connect with a working adult and observe work in progress.

Job shadowing does not lend itself to virtual activities.

Through a  mock interview, students are paired one-on-one with a business partner who interviews each student as if he/she were being interviewed by an employer for a paid internship or job.

A student is formally interviewed via phone, FaceTime, SKYPE, Microsoft Teams or Zoom by an Industry Partner as if they were applying for a job with the company the partner represents.

Multiple employers are invited to a virtual classroom and are assigned to breakout rooms and interview a number of students individually.

View a recorded mock interview and have students critique it in the classroom.

Through a workplace challenge, small groups of students (four to six per team) are engaged in a problem-solving exercise issued by an employer in consultation with a teacher or counselor.

Teams of students are paired with employers to complete a workplace challenge.  They connect via technology and work together over time to address an identified issue. Students then provide a presentation of their solution online to the employer partner(s) at the conclusion of the challenge.

Download the Provider Guide: The Workplace Challenge

Through an internship, a student has the opportunity to learn by doing real work and being productively engaged in the workplace. Students may work individually, in teams, work on a project, or rotate through a number of departments and job functions.

CTE Virtual Internship Guidelines

Download the CareerReady Work Learn Grow Virtual Internship Industry Partner Guide

Virtual Internships
Created by Sue Gubing and WBL Coordinators with the support of Perkins funding
https://sites.google.com/site/virtualinternshipswbl/2020-virtual-internship

Each Virtual Internship involves selecting one of more than 70 occupations, conducting guided research on the occupation and its educational or training pathway followed by the completion of three simulated task associated with the job.

Xtreme Intern
https://xtremeintern.com/
An educational and career assessment tool that is designed to assist High School and College bound students in recognizing their interests, natural talents and abilities, while applying them to virtual real-world career experiences.

Through a work experience, a student has the opportunity to develop and demonstrate professional and occupational skills by addressing a core business function and doing productive work with an employer.

Digital Summer Youth Employment Toolkit 2.0
The Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, December 16, 2020
https://aspencommunitysolutions.org/report/digital-summer-youth-employment-toolkit-2-0/

This resource builds on the initial toolkit from June 2020, and is informed by implementation lessons from 2020’s “summer like no other” from communities across the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) network and national partners.