Procedure

Procedure 8475.1 - Career Education Programs

1. DEFINITIONS

Career Education – Programs designed to provide students with significant learning experiences outside the classroom. They are joint, coordinated efforts of the school and the community.

Sponsoring Organization – A work placement established by an employer, group, company, establishment, institution, etc. for the training and educational benefit of students involved in a Career Education program.

Standard Work Site– Refers to a location where:

a)	A worker/student performs the tasks and responsibilities related to an occupation or a career, under the general supervision of an employer; or
b)	A location at which a self-employed person performs the tasks and responsibilities related to that person’s self-employment.

Non-Standard Work Site – A work site or location which is created by a school or a school board for the purpose of training students for an occupation or a career.

2. DISTRICT PROGRAMS

Career Preparation – A set of related in-school courses, that when taken by the student as a package, provides specific skill training as well as a required 100 hours of work experience.

Co-operative Education – A process by which students apply their academic studies to practical, hands-on-situations in a realistic setting through in-depth work experience placements of at least 200 hours.

Secondary School Apprenticeship – A provincial career program that enables students to work directly into the apprenticeship training system while attending high school.

Job Shadow – Short term (up to 30 hours) visits to an employer/sponsor to observe the nature of that person’s job.

3. ADMINISTRATION

School District No. 36 (Surrey) personnel will work towards achieving the following guidelines to ensure cohesive management of Career Education programs:

a)	The district will provide direction and co-ordination of the program through the use of appropriate personnel.
b)	The district will promote and facilitate and support the goals of Career Education programs at each school site.
c)	To achieve community input and co-operation in its Career programs, the district will ensure the formation of and provide District representation on the Community and Schools Partnership Council and the District Steering Committee on Secondary School Apprenticeship.
d)	In accordance with Ministry of Education procedures Career Education programs must be approved by the superintendent of schools and the Surrey Board of Education for School District #36 (Surrey).

4. WORK EXPERIENCE (TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES)

4.1.	Before any student participates in a work experience placement, the teacher making the placement must be satisfied that the work setting poses no undue hazards when reasonable precautions are taken, that the student will be properly instructed on work and safety procedures and that the experience will be of value to the student.
4.2.	The employer/sponsor is to be advised of any relevant intellectual, sensory, learning or physical disabilities or other background information pertaining to the student prior to the work placement. In this way the employer/sponsor can make an informed consent when agreeing to the placement and be enabled to provide a safe and positive learning experience. Communication about the student’s educational program should be documented for the employer. The student and parent/guardian are also to be advised of any risks which are not inherently obvious in the work placement.
4.3.	Before beginning a work experience placement, the student, the parent or guardian (for students under 19 years of age), the employer and an appropriate labour union representative are required to sign the appropriate Career Education Agreement. There are three different agreements, depending on the nature of the work experience involved and the length of the placement. The standard work site agreement provides the normal form of WCB coverage, requires the signatures of student, parent, employer and administrator to be valid, and is processed by the district office.
4.4.	Staff members responsible for work experience placements are required to monitor placement arrangements on a regular basis to ensure that work experiences continue to be of value to the students concerned and that work locations maintain satisfactory safety standards. A record of such visits, with observations noted, is to be maintained for each student.

Revised:	1996-12-17
Revised:	1994-01-13
Approved:	1983-11