The NYSED/CUNY CareerKits

The NYSED/CUNY CareerKit Project is a set of curricular resources for HSE and high level ESOL students that blend critical literacy skills with career exploration, planning and preparation in 10 different growing industries. Each of the 10 CareerKits is designed to engage HSE and high level ESOL students in reading, writing, math, critical thinking  and digital literacy activities. The CareerKits are thoughtfully planned, and chockful of relevant resources – graphs, articles, videos, writing assignments, and more. As of September 2017, there are CareerKits for healthcare, technology, community & social service, and education & childcare available for use. The Careerkit in Manufacturing is coming soon.

One of the strengths of the NYSED/CUNY CareerKits project is that each of the 10 CareerKits follows a similar format for career exploration. For example, students always start with an analysis of the labor market, using research to help them see what the outlook is for jobs in each industry. Similarly, each careerkit gives students the chance to think about their own interests, experience, and education in the “Knowing Myself” unit. In the unit called “In Their Own Words” students get to hear narratives (both written and in videos) of workers already in the field.  The final unit in each careerkit addresses the other important job that many of our students have: parenting. In the unit “Parenting is a Job, Too” students learn the latest research on parenting and how it relates to the well-being and educational attainment of their children.

The CareerKits are fully formed curricular materials, but units and lessons can also be used. Read the introduction to the CareerKits or download the CareerKits.

If you have used the CareerKits with your students, we would love to hear how it went. Please post your thoughts in the comments section below.

Sample pages from three CareerKits (healthcare, technology, & community and social service):

Analyzing the Market

Knowing Myself

Getting Prepared

Worker Narratives

Choosing a Career

Parenting is a Job, Too

A Client’s Perspective

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About Moira Taylor

Moira Taylor loves her reading time on the C train as she travels from Washington Heights to Brooklyn. Her ESL career started at the Riverside Language Program more than 20 years ago. She's also taught in Thailand, the New York Public libraries, and The New School. She's been at CUNY as an ESL professional developer for 10 years.

3 thoughts on “The NYSED/CUNY CareerKits

  1. The print copies are not legible. Please post better copies to give to students.

  2. Have you tried downloading the PDFs from http://bit.ly/cunycareerkits? The images above are just examples. The downloadable PDFs have print-ready worksheets for all the units. For example, take a look at p. 30 in this unit from Healthcare: http://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/academics/academic-programs/model-programs/cuny-college-transition-programs/adult-literacy/cuny-careerkit-for-hse-esl-learners/CUNY-Careerkit-Healthcare-Unit-1.pdf

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