Frequently Asked Questions
CCL learning is an organized sequence of activities designed to provide students with real-life career exploration and short duration training activities hosted by area employers. Students utilize available career interest and aptitude tests and then can participate in CCL activities to further investigate how they might fit into a particular early career field.
Desirable CCL outcomes for students include an understanding of a “day in the life” of an occupation of interest; the necessary knowledge, educational pathway, and professional skills required for early career entry; and, the development of professional relationships with a variety of area employers that may be in a position to hire the student.
Knowledge transfer is the methodical replication of the expertise, wisdom, and tacit knowledge of occupational subject matter experts into the heads and hands of the next generation. It is more than just on-the-job training. It is the planned movement of the right skills and information at the right time to keep a workforce prepared, productive, innovative, and competitive. (See https://stevetrautman.com/learn/knowledge-transfer-plan/)
Design thinking is an approach used for practical and creative problem-solving. It is based heavily on the methods and processes that designers use (hence the name), but it has actually evolved from a range of different fields — including architecture, engineering and business. Design thinking can also be applied to any field; it doesn’t necessarily have to be design-specific.
Design thinking is extremely user-centric. It focuses on humans first and foremost, seeking to understand people’s needs and come up with effective solutions to meet those needs. It is what we call a solution-based approach to problem-solving. (https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/what-is-design-thinking-everything-you-need-to-know-to-get-started/)
Talent demand and talent supply systems are chronically and systemically disconnected. In fact, they are broken! This is proven by the alarming statistics evident in our national and local economies. The system is broken when sixty-nine percent (69%) of U.S. employers report difficulty hiring to fill open positions. The system is broken when 64% of workers report being disengaged from their jobs. The system is broken when 43% of college students drop out before completing a degree. The system is broken when 33% of college graduates are underemployed. And, the system is broken when middle school students are aware of only 4 jobs!
Our communities and our nation need to do something different. Community-based, talent development system building starting in K-12 is the answer!
There are tremendous opportunities in the economy for high school and college graduates that will lead to satisfying work and competitive wages for students. However, many K-12 students, especially during middle school and high school, are woefully unaware of most of the great jobs available for early career entry. In fact, according to a middle school survey completed in 2019, middle school students are able to name only 4 jobs. (Adams County, Colorado public schools).
A well designed CCL system makes it easy for middle school and high school students to explore careers, investigate occupations, and participate in short duration training in occupations of interest. By participating in sequenced and organized CCL activities, students will be in a more informed position to make career or post-secondary decisions and stay focused on their early career education and skill-building.
When your young student is able to see how their unique talents, interests and aptitudes fit into the world in general and into the world of work in particular, they can begin the journey of forming a life of purpose and self-support. The ideal state is for a student to choose an early career that is classified as a “high demand” occupation. High demand occupations are more likely to provide a solid standard of living along with a productive and rewarding career ladder.
Meaningful career conversations at school, at home, and with host business professionals that encourage students to explore, investigate, and train in occupations that are in high demand in our economy are going to make a difference for our children. Students who have a well thought-out, early career goal will be better engaged in academics and will be better informed to make good education and training choices.
Born in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado in the fall of 2019, our mission is to “connect students’ talents, interests, and aptitudes to the world of work.”
Having proven our model with 20 K-12 school systems and nearly 500 business partners, we have been invited by industry leaders and workforce development leaders to scale our model to other communities.
BEA’s model utilizes the principles of generational knowledge transfer in combination with design thinking to assist communities in the development and implementation of repeatable, scalable, and quality-driven CCL and talent development systems.
Those interested in helping BEA scale and sustain its mission can go to DONATE.
Colorado Springs, CO
Fountain, CO
Woodland Park, CO
Cripple Creek, CO
Peyton, CO
Calhan, CO
The Career-Connected Learning MARKETPLACE is the easy-button answer to a fragmented community of schools looking to connect students with valuable CCL experiences. The web tool and content are designed to empower student/teacher self-service (with school system and BEA staff support), while providing structured and repeatable elements that are extremely valuable to both K-12 and industry partners.
The web tool is FERPA compliant to protect minor student privacy. Other valuable features of the web tool include:
For business partners/career representatives:
Manage all of your sponsored CCL activities in a single place
Simple and easy onboard process
Easy to use CCL templates
“How to” best practices for hosting CCL activities for young students
Ongoing access to BEA support
For teachers, students and parents:
All digital permission forms and parent acknowledgements
Students gain access to a new world of career exploration all in one place
Students can participate in live, real world CCL with willing professionals
All communications and interactions occur behind the login wall of the tool.
The web tool and communication function provides adult navigation and supervision
1.Career Exploration:
#EveryOneHasAStory recorded career interviews
Career Class Presentations/Speaker's Bureau Panels
Site Visit/Field Trips
2. Occupational Investigation:
Job Shadows
Informational Interviews
Project or Capstone Mentorships
3. Career Training:
60-hour Internships
Industry Sponsored Projects
Jobs/Training/Apprenticeships
4. Early career entry
#EveryoneHasAStory is a career exploration activity for students and a social impact donation for career representatives. Leveraging the knowledge transfer model, the BEA #EveryoneHasAStory podcast and video series are designed to transfer career knowledge from the world of work to individual students via digital channels. Career and informational interviews are recorded with career representatives in hundreds of occupations. This content is then converted to video and audio formats for easy access to students. Career representatives donate as little as 60 minutes of their time with the potential to impact the career trajectory of thousands of students.
System building requires the alignment of design thinking with knowledge transfer principles and intentional participation of critical system partners. In the case of talent development system building, it is imperative that employers, K-12 education partners, post-secondary institutions and economic and workforce development interests are actively participating in the system. A properly designed system yields enhanced student decision making around early career entry and provides employers access to talent being developed within the system leading to a structured, aligned, scalable and sustainable workforce within a community.
In many occupations, the days of posting positions and hoping qualified candidates show up are over. In 2021, sixty-nine percent (69%) of U.S. employers reported difficulty hiring to fill open positions. Today’s pressing talent shortages are fueled by the growing demand for talent as employers anticipate growing payrolls over the next 5 years. (https://go.manpowergroup.com/talent-shortage)
Hiring is most difficult in a select group of high demand occupations throughout the U.S. including:
Nursing & health sciences
Information Technology, Computer Science & Cybersecurity
Business operations & entrepreneurship
Transportation & logistics
Arts, design & multimedia
Engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence
Skilled crafts and trades in manufacturing and construction
There are strategies that businesses can adopt to help solve these problems. One of the key system strategies is to partner with K-12 education to "build your own" workforce. Participating in a designed talent development system with a strong focus on K-12 CCL is an effective long term strategy to fill and sustain a talent pipeline into high demand occupations.
Most public school systems and charter systems are accountable for supporting students’ career development or post-secondary or workforce readiness. Well-designed CCL systems for K-12 education provide easy access for teachers, advisors and staff members to bring the world of work into classrooms. CCL activities can be provided to groups of students or individual students with emphasis being placed on student reflections to reinforce learning. When students understand how their unique talents, interests and aptitudes fit into the world of work, they will be more engaged in academics and accountable to “own their future”, leading to improved graduation rates and post-secondary or career matriculation.
BEA utilizes publicly available research and surveys to determine high demand occupations in a target region or system. These sources include the U.S. Department of Labor, Gallup surveys, ManpowerGroup surveys and state labor market information portals. Broadened economic vitality will be more achievable by focusing talent development systems on solving the talent gaps in high demand occupations in the community.
CCL system design thinking facilitation and training
CCL business partnership and development training
CCL education development training
CCL web tool licensing and training
CCL web tool desktop support and student ambassador/navigation
Interested businesses, school systems or communities are invited to submit a Pilot Program Interest Form. We’ll get right back with you so we can learn more about your goals and how BEA can assist!
The web tool is for authorized users only and is password protected for security.
The next step for any community or school who is interested in having their students participate in any sort of career-connected learning, including internships, is to complete the Pilot Program Interest Form.