Pilot Version User's Guide pandora project USER'S GUIDE The material contained within the Users's Guide may be reproduced by those purchasing The Pandora Project Kit. © Government of Alberta, 1992 Developed by the Centre for Career Development Innovation of Concordia College and Vicom Ltd. The Pandora Project has been made possible by the following funding partners: Alberta Career Development and Employment Alberta Education Alberta Technology, Research & Telecommunications Alberta Women's Secretariat Canadian Guidance & Counselling Foundation with Canada Employment and Immigration Commission Science Culture Canada What is The Pandora Project?............................. . ........................ page 3 And this is how we put it together......................»................. page 4 What can you expect to learn?.......................... • •,............. page 5 Are you ready for it?................................................ »•••••••..page 6 What next?. •••••••••••••••••••••.................................. page 8 This Guide is for you, the User. It’s intended to give you a brief description of The Pandora Project as well as outline what you can expect to learn through watching the videodiscs. The section on What next? will provide you with a checklist of activities you may like to consider as you continue gathering career information. WHAT IS THE PANDORA PROJECT? It's a fun, simple to use, and a highly informative way to learn about some career options. The DARE TO DREAM and WORKING HAND, CARING HEART VIDEODISCS have been produced to help you explore a number of career opportunities in 5 exciting areas: By touching one of these icons on the screen, you'll be able to look at different roles within that occupation. AND THIS IS HOW WE PUT IT TOGETHER.. A group of researchers interviewed 100 experts in a variety of roles within these 5 occupational areas. The people we chose to talk to were all very successful at what they did. We were curious... We asked them: • What skills, knowledge, values and interests do you have? • What did you have to do to prepare yourself for you job? • What kinds of difficulties do you face at work? How do you overcome these difficulties? We found out so many interesting things and now we want to share this with you... on videodisc and in some printed material you can get from your teacher, counsellor, or librarian Along with the researchers and experts there were writers, artists, the camera crew, editors, audio specialists and, of course, the producer/director working on this project. Together we formed The Pandora Project Team. We are all dedicated to helping people through the challenging process of making a career decision. WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO LEARN? Choose A Videodisc If you want to have an overview of careers in the Environment, Health, Computing, Materials and Processes, and Telecommunications, watch the DARE TO DREAM videodisc. If you are interested in learning about careers in the environment, watch the WORKING HAND, CARING HEART videodisc. the experts: use their technical skills work together in groups communicate with a variety of people operate highly technical equipment care for others and the planet to experts talk about: the importance of a strong background in math and science what they value about their work what knowledge they need to do their job what they are interested in accomplishing what barriers interfere with their job satisfaction and what they do to overcome these barriers about: how the experts got to where they are in their chosen career what post-secondary training they might have had how you could further explore a role of interest to you ARE YOU READY FOR IT? You Are In Control... The exciting thing about videodisc is that you are in control. You'll be given lots of options during the program so you'll be able to "zip" to content that meets your needs. We, of course, recommend you watch all of it. An important feature built into these videodiscs is that the roles leading to a common purpose have been grouped together. Each cluster of common roles is called a function. You'll be asked to select one function to watch on the videodisc. EXAMPLE: On the environment videodisc (WORKING HAND, CARING HEART), the roles are divided into 3 major functions: And, within each function, the roles have been further divided into skill levels. You'll be asked to select a skill level to watch on the videodisc. Each of the 5 occupational sectors (Computing, Health, Telecommunications, Materials & Processes, and Environment) are divided into functions and levels of responsibility. 6 Why Group Roles Into Functions and Skill Levels? This is our way of showing you the possibilities for movement within a sector. This movement is referred to as CAREER PATHING. Value + Interest + Skills + Knowledge are the driving factors in Career Pathing. Here's one example of how CAREER PATHING works: Person A is employed as an Irrigation Systems Design Technician. We know from our research that this role fits into the Research & Development function at the Technical/Non-Technical level. Per­ son A wishes to add to the skills and knowledge already achieved by going to university to study engineering. After graduation, that person moves into the professional level and may decide to work as an Irrigation Engineer (Research & Development) or in Dam Safety (Impact Assessment) or in Water Resources (Policy and Protection). After several years of gaining experience in a particu­ lar role, Person A may decide to move into management or set up his or her own consulting company. We've provided your school, library or Career Centre with an Environment Matrix for the roles on the Working Hand, Caring Heart videodisc as well as one which shows all the different environmental roles we found during our research. You may want to take some time to look at them and map out other career pathing opportunities. ilWHAT'S NEXt If you find some roles that interest you and you'd like to learn more, here are some suggestions: Pandora Project Profiles There is a binder available that has a one page description of each role we've featured in the Dare to Dream and Working Hand, Caring Heart videodiscs. As well, there are additional environmental roles included. Ask your counsellors, librarians or teachers for a copy of the ones that interest you. Work Experience If there is a work experience program offered in your school, you may want to see if you can be involved in the company that employs a person in the role you are interested in. Job Shadowing Job shadowing is a wonderful way of finding out what is involved in a role. Job shadowing is when you spend a day or half day with a person who works in that role you are interested in. Advisors Your teachers, career counsellors, and librarians can advise you on where to go for further information about a particular role. Career Development Centre Find out if there is a Career Development Centre in your area. The counsellors in these centres are very informative and highly skilled in managing career information. Post-Secondary Programs Find out which post-secondary institution offers a program that trains people in the role you are interested in. The counsellors can advise you about the entrance requirements and anything else you wish to know about a program. Buddy System It is common to find a "buddy system" in place at post-secondary institutions. That's when you are invited to spend a 1/2 day with the students as they move through their classes and labs. If you're interested, ask your career counsellor how to go about doing this. Public Libraries Public libraries are valuable sources of information on careers. Network Network with other students. It just might be that someone has a relative who has a job in an area of interest to you. Career Fairs Attend career fairs. There are knowledgeable people in attendance and lots of printed material available to you. Good Luck! We hope you find exactly what you are looking for. 8