There were 5.7 million workers unemployed and 11 million open jobs at the end of 2022 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Why are there so many unfilled positions while there are so many job seekers? World of Work helps students build vocational identity starting in the early grades to help them navigate the myriad of career building opportunities that help prepare them for their dream careers. Right now there are millions of students in classrooms across the country who have strengths, interests, and values that will make them perfect candidates for these unfilled positions. Focusing on career development in K-12 gives these students the chance to understand themselves and begin their journey of developing the skills that will land them their dream job.
“There were 5.7 million workers unemployed and 11 million open jobs”
So often, the world values job titles, what a job pays, and the chance to be promoted. Gallup’s research around career wellbeing, or liking what you do everyday, shows that finding meaningfulness, purpose, and progress in a career are crucial components to leading a fulfilled life. Through the World of Work, students unpack their unique strengths, interests, and values to discover what careers they can find meaning, purpose, and progress in. Interest fit, of all the personality measures, has the highest correlation to job performance, success, and income. By anchoring in the RIASEC framework, students are equipped to view careers with their interests in mind, setting them up to not only experience the meaning, purpose and progress that everyone seeks in their careers, but also find success along the way.
We asked local business and community leaders a simple question – if you ran the school district, what would you do differently? Skilled tradesmen and women and military leaders told Dr. Miyashiro the same thing – stop stigmatizing labor. K-12 education has a history of diminishing some of the most important work that happens in our communities by emphasizing a mindset that every worker needs a college degree to be successful. Through the World of Work, students learn firsthand there is dignity in all work through exploring careers and RIASEC interest themes. By trying out careers and working alongside classmates with different interests, students discover that all work is needed in society and that all workers contribute to the community.