Posts Tagged ‘mentoring’

 It’s almost Labor Day!

Career exploration – which is all about helping kids connect-the-dots between their school work, their talents and interests and getting a job someday – can be a creative, easy activity all year long.

(And it shouldn’t just take place in the classroom. Everyone can be a career mentor. We’ve got the tools to prove it.)

But I digress. Back to the calendar.

Consider this: there are many people in the world who love holidays and observances of every kind.

 I searched online and readily found lots of them. They range from the seemingly silly -June is Iced Tea Month- to the serious, Martin Luther King Day, for example.

I wondered who the heck would celebrate Iced Tea so I noodled around.

Low and behold, investigating Iced Tea Month turned out to be pretty interesting.  It became a springboard for learning about the different kinds of teas and tea leaf growers around the world as well as the people who come up with new recipes for hot, bottled, iced and spiked teas.

 I read that there is a lot of research that goes into uncovering the health and nutritional benefits of different types of tea as well as how it can be used in cooking—as a rub, a marinade or for steaming. (I didn’t know that.) It can also be used as a beauty aid.

There are even schools that prepare professionals for relocation to Great Britain and Asian countries where tea services are a large part of the culture — so no one commits embarrassing faux pas on the job.

 Who knew? I found all this out by looking at observances and picking one to investigate.

You could keep connecting-the-dots:  What other types of jobs or businesses are connected to the tea and beverage industry?  Who hires these people? I have Lipton, Nestle and Wild Organics as brand names on the packages of teas in my cupboard.

 What are these companies all about? Are they good employers? Who do they hire? What training or degrees are commonly required to work for them?

Dot. Dot. Dot. Wasn’t that easy?

Labor Day is coming up. You know there is a ton of interesting information related to it.

 So go do a little labor.

 It will help you get career wise!

CareerWise™ products are based on the premise that opening kids’ eyes to all the fascinating  jobs there are in the world is the first step to motivating them to stay in school so they can grow up and get a job someday. Visit www.GetCareerWise.com for our award-winning workbook –with Free Teaching Guide-  and  www.GetCareerWise.com/blog4  for more articles.  (Reprints are ok, but please acknowledge us.)  We will be launching a wonderful new product on Sept 1, so stay tuned.

Have you heard about sewing’s revival as a popular hobby? And how the marriage of a time-honored craft and high-technology is attracting a new generation of seamstresses?

It’s pretty cool.

Thanks to fashion-showcasing television shows like “Project Runway,” and the growing number of clothing designer sites and blogs, a new generation is discovering the fun, creativity and savings that can be enjoyed by making their own clothes.

Big retailers like Wal-Mart have reported that they are going to start carrying more cut fabrics, buttons, zippers and other notions again, in response to customer demand.

Sewing machine manufacturers have not only kept up with the times, they’ve lead the way by introducing new features that make sewing easier and more creative.

Some of the latest machines come equipped with USB ports, high resolution touch screens, and automatic threading and decorative stitching capabilities.  New software digitizes embroidery designs, transferring images from laptops to sewing machines.

Smartphone app developers are getting in on the trend too.  One new app helps seamstresses find the thread they need. You upload a photo of your fabric to search through 15,000 commercially available threads for the perfect match.

This revival in sewing and crafting is creating big, lively communities of seamstresses and crafters who enjoy sharing what they’ve learned, discovered or made. The website WeAllSew.com, offering links to blogs and Twitter, reports 95,000 visits since its launch two years ago.

And group sewing events have become very popular-combining the recession-prompted trend towards home and hearth activities, intergenerational bonding and cost-savings resourcefulness.  The Singer Sewing Machine Company hosted 800 sewing parties across the country on Mothers’ Day this year. They had experienced seamstresses host and teach guests how to use their machines.  
 

Sewing isn’t just for girls either. If boys are skeptical, have them look up the careers of iconic males in the fashion industry like Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Ozwald, Boateng, Michael Bastian and others.

What kinds of jobs and/or careers can a love of sewing lead to? Here’s a start:

Sewing Consultant/Instructor (computer skills a plus!)

Blogger (Build a community or help market someone else’s products)

Youth Group Sewing Instructor (After-School Programs & Camps are starting!)

Tailor/Seamstress/Clothing Repair Expert

Quilter (specialize in personalized graduation, new home, baby & wedding gifts)

Fashion Directors

Clothing Designer

Salesperson/Demonstrator (tell a local store you’ll bring in younger customers)

Pattern Makers

Software Engineers

Sewing Party Coordinator

Fabric Designer

Quilt Instructor

Computer Consultant (Help older sewers learn new computerized functions)

Phone App Developer

Sewing Accessories Designer
Sew, it makes one think in a whole new way, doesn’t it?

The ability to connect-the-dots between interesting news reports, popular trends and their own interests is a wonderful skill that will serve kids well throughout their lives.

 It can lead to fascinating career exploration and rewarding employment. And, help them get career wise!
 

  CareerWise™ products are based on the premise that opening kids’ eyes to all the fascinating  jobs there are in the world is the first step to motivating them to stay in school so they can grow up and get a job someday. Visit www.GetCareerWise.com for our award-winning workbook –with Free Teaching Guide- and  www.GetCareerWise.com/blog4  for more articles.  (Reprints are ok, but please acknowledge us.)  We will be launching a wonderful new product later this month, so stay tuned!

I’ll give you a hint.

Did you like ‘Avatar’ or ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’? Weren’t they cool in 3-D?

 Then look into stereoscopy as a career option. What a hot technology to master!

Where and how it is used is pretty interesting. And the best part is, there are zillions of ways it can evolve to enhance how we view things in all sorts of industries and mediums. It’s a field waiting to explode with opportunity!

If the future of stereoscopy excites the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, I think other creative spirits should take a multi-dimensional look at it too!

It would be very careerwise.

CareerWise™ products are based on the premise that opening kids’ eyes to all the fascinating  jobs there are in the world is the first step to motivating them to stay in school so they can grow up and get a job someday. Visit www.GetCareerWise.com for our award-winning workbook –with Free Teaching Guide-  and  www.GetCareerWise.com/blog4  for more articles.  (Reprints are ok, but please acknowledge us.)  We will be launching a wonderful new product later this month, so stay tuned!

First off, what is a career cluster? In the world of career exploration, they are good to know. So find out what they are by visiting the U.S. Departments of Education or the U.S.  Department of  Labor web sites to find out.

Next, read through the 16 clusters carefully.  Did you ever think about jobs being categorized like that?  It’s interesting, isn’t it?

Do any career clusters interest you more than others?

Are you curious about what jobs are possible in each cluster?

Are you feeling like a detective on the trail of some very interesting information that could affect your educational and career choices?

Yes?  Then congratulations!  You are becoming careerwise!

To find out about our creative, highly relevant and award-winning workbook filled with career exploration activities, information and exercises, visit www.GetCareerWise.com. It comes with a free teaching guide. And stay tuned: we have a fabulous new product launching this month that you are going to love!

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about the dry cleaning industry, with the latest news about how the economy, environmental concerns and changing consumer habits are affecting it.

But what really grabbed my attention was the number of jobs referred to in the article. I counted eighteen. There are probably many more considering that the article reports 24,124 dry cleaning and non-coin-operated laundry establishments in the U.S. alone.

Here are the ones I noted:

1. Dry Cleaning Store Chain Operator
2. Dry Cleaning Store Manager
3. Pressing Machine Operator
4. Garment Sorter
5. Seamstress/Tailors
6. Forensic Accountant & Business Advisor
7. Market Researcher
8. Consumer Products Maker
9. Consumer Products Company Spokesperson
10. Valet
11. Store/Facilities Designer
12. Store Design Tester
13. Environment Protection Agency Representative
14. Director of Technical Services – National Dry Cleaners Association
15. Chief Executive Officer - Dry cleaning & Laundry Institute
16. Director of Public Affairs - Consumer Federation of America
17. Professor of Fiber Science
18.  Dry Cleaning Machine Operators

What a creative way to learn about different jobs in various industries. You should try it as you read the newspaper, a book or online articles.  Your knowledge of the working world will impress everybody!

Learn how to get careerwise on an everyday basis and have fun with career exploration by visiting www.GetCareerWise.com.