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Career Pathways

The Future is Yours: Exploring Career Destinations

If you want to learn more about yourself, plan your future or find a pathway that’s right for you – look no further than The Future is Yours: Exploring Career Destinations.

Here, you will find plenty of helpful career resources, plus links to some interesting sites.

The Self-Assessment Zone

Have fun getting to know yourself a little better with one of our many self-assessment tests.

EQ (Emotional Quotient) test assesses your emotional intelligence based on 16 emotional competencies, including perceiving emotions, facilitating thought, understanding emotions and managing emotions.  Take the test and see your EQ profile.

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test indicates a person’s mental abilities in relation to his or her age group.  Take an online test today.

Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES) will give you a good idea of how your skills match the ones described in more than 200 occupations.

True Colours is a personality test, which helps you understand your personality and behavioural style based on a four-quadrant colour/personality model.  Take the test today.

Career planning is a building process that requires thinking, research and commitment.  Read this section and start planning for your future.

Career Planning: A Five-Step Process

Career planning is a building process that requires thinking, research and commitment.  Read this section and start planning for your future.

Step 1: Self-Assessment
Self-assessment is all about discovering and gathering information about yourself.  In the case of career planning, it usually means identifying your personality, interests, values, skills and abilities.

Step 2: Explore your Options
Once you have a better understanding of your needs, interests and abilities, it’s time to look at your future goals and career options.  By searching sites like myBlueprint Education Planner and Working in Canada you will be exploring a wide-range of future opportunities.

Step 3: Decision-Making
After doing steps 1 and 2, we recommend that you a.) carefully evaluate your options with your guidance counsellor, family or friends and b.) make a decision that is right for you.  Before deciding, consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Step 4: Planning
Create an action plan.  Ask yourself: What do I have to do to make my decision become a reality?  Perhaps you will need further education and training or more community involvement hours.

Step 5: Executing the Plan
After you’ve established a plan, act upon it!  For example, if you’re a Grade 10 student who is planning to become a hair stylist, perhaps next year, in Grade 11, you could take action by participating in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and work in a hair salon.

Nine Essential Skills For Learning and Life

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and the Conference Board of Canada have identified nine “essential skills” which provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change. The “essential skills” described below are not the technical skills required by specific occupations.  They are the skills used to varying degrees in virtually all occupations. People in all types of jobs need to be able to read, make decisions and solve problems.  They also need to develop general skills for use not only in the workplace, but also for everyday life and lifelong learning.

Reading text: The comprehension of text consisting of sentences and paragraphs

Document use: The use of labels, lists, signs, graphs, charts, tables, forms and other similar materials

Writing: The preparation of written materials for a variety of purposes

Computer use: The use of any type of computerized technology

Numeracy: Using numbers and thinking in quantitative terms to complete tasks

Thinking skills: The process of evaluating ideas or information to reach a decision

Working with others: Working with other employees to carry out tasks

Continuous learning: Participating in an ongoing process or acquiring skills and knowledge

Exploring Career Pathways

A career pathway is a focus and direction for a student’s learning. A pathway shares similar characteristics and employment requirements, combining common interests, strengths and competencies. To find out which pathway is right for you, read the five descriptions below or visit your Guidance Office today.

Arts, Communication and Recreation

People attracted to careers in this pathway like to write stories, poetry and music, sketch, draw, paint, play musical instruments, sing, dance, act, take photos and be physically active.  This career path includes programs related to the humanities and to the performing, visual, literary, media arts and recreation.  These include architecture, creative writing, film and cinema studies, fine arts, graphic design and production, journalism, foreign languages, radio and television broadcasting, advertising, public relations, coaching, instructors in recreation and sport.

People interested in this career pathway possess some of these qualities and skills:

  • Strong interpersonal skills
  • Imagination and creativity
  • Leadership skills
  • A healthy, active lifestyle
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
  • Motivation
  • Ability to focus
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Ability to pay attention to details
  • Superior communication skills
  • Ability to multi-task

Business, Finance, Sales and Service

People attracted to careers in this pathway like to influence, persuade, perform, lead or manage in order to meet organizational goals for economic gain.  They like to make decisions, meet people, initiate projects, give talks and speeches, organize activities or lead a group.  Other people attracted to careers in this pathway like to work with data using clerical or numerical ability, carry out tasks in detail and follow through on instructions from others.  Programs may include entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, hospitality and tourism, computer information systems, finance, accounting, personnel, economics and management.

People interested in this career pathway possess some of these qualities and skills:

  • Enthusiasm and self-confidence
  • Ability to make decisions
  • Competitiveness
  • Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
  • Strong communication skills
  • Excellent problem-solving skills
  • Discipline and strong work ethic
  • Ability to build relationships
  • Active listening skills
  • Initiative
  • Friendly and personable
  • Customer oriented

Health, Natural and Applied Sciences and Information Technology

People attracted to careers in this pathway like to work with people.  This career path includes programs related to the promotion of health as well as the treatment of injuries, conditions and diseases.  These may include medicine, dentistry, nursing, therapy, rehabilitation, nutrition, fitness, hygiene, engineering and computers.  They like to observe, learn, analyze, investigate, evaluate and solve problems.  They like to work independently or in teams, analyze data, do research, deal with abstractions, explore a variety of ideas, perform lab experiments, do complex calculations and understand scientific methods and theories.

People interested in this career pathway possess some of these qualities and skills:

  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Discipline and ability to work under pressure
  • Willingness to work long hours
  • Ability to meet physical demands
  • Strong leadership skills
  • Ability to make decisions quickly
  • Strong work ethic
  • Ability to focus
  • Strong skills in math, science and computer technology
  • Ability to work independently
  • Ability to multi-task
  • Willingness to help others
  • Sense of responsibility

Social Sciences, Government and Human Services

People attracted to careers in this pathway like to work with people.  This career path includes programs related to economic, political and social systems.  This pathway may include education, law and legal studies, law enforcement, public administration, child and family services, religion and social services.

People interested in this career pathway possess some of these qualities and skills:

  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
  • Willingness to help others
  • Sense of responsibility
  • Solid math, science and technology skills
  • Strong communication skills
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure
  • Compassion
  • Patient and analytical
  • Emotional stability

Trades, Transport and Industrial Technology

People attracted to careers in this pathway like to work with their hands.  They like to work with objects, machines, tools, plants or animals.  This career path includes programs related to the technologies necessary to design, develop, install or maintain physical systems.  These include engineering and related technologies, mechanics and repair, manufacturing technology, precision production, electronics, construction, fisheries management and forestry.

People interested in this career pathway possess some of these qualities and skills:

  • Ability to work independently
  • Enjoy the outdoors
  • Patient and analytical
  • Solid math, science and technology skills
  • Strong problem solving skills
  • Ability to pay attention to details
  • Curiosity
  • Discipline and ability to focus
  • Logical thinking
  • Ability to meet physical demands

To learn more, take a look at the Course Selection for Career Pathways brochure below. It features a handy chart on careers, pathways and the courses needed to obtain an Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Career Links

myBlueprint Education Planner
myBlueprint Education Planner

Globe Careers
careerdiscovery.ca

Indeed
indeed.ca

Working in Canada
workingincanada.gc.ca