Career Resource Centers
description
Transcript of Career Resource Centers
John RakisConsultantNational Institute of Corrections
Creative Strategies for Maximizing the
Effectiveness of Career Resource
Centers
Objectives
• Learn how to set up a career resource center in a correctional, facility, probation or parole office, or community-based organization
• Learn how to enhance an existing career resource center using the no-cost resources available from the National Institute of Corrections
Can’t do it by Yourself!
• Engage Volunteers -VolunteerMatch.Org
• Inmate Career Clerks
Why?• Most persons with criminal convictions
are ill-prepared to enter the world of work
• One-stop career centers can’t do everything
• Need to send a consistent message throughout the criminal justice process
Why?• Many people are waiting idly in
probation and parole offices right now
• The same is true in prisons
• Wherever they are set up, career resource centers are in high demand
Career Definition
• The pattern of activities and experiences that make up a lifetime of work, learning, and leisure
The Purpose
• Career development should not be the accumulation of haphazard occurrences
• Career resource centers should promote a planned process that leads to satisfying work and life experiences
A Full Service Career Resource Center
• Self-assessment materials
• Career briefs on occupations, including demand, salaries, training, etc.
A Full Service Career Resource Center
• Information needed to secure identity documents required for employment
• Assistance with resumes and cover letters and guidance on how to search for employment opportunities
• Assistance with the job application process
A Full Service Career Resource Center
• Labor market information and local job requirements
• Information about community-based Career One-Stops
• Preparation for prison and jail-based career fairs
A Full Service Career Resource Center
• Multimedia materials, including videos about careers and the job search process
• Workshops intended to improve employment outcomes
Assessment
• Process of learning about oneself and determining which occupations are the best fit
• May include interest inventories, skills surveys and value inventories
• Barriers Assessment
O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler
• provides valuable self-knowledge about their vocational interests
• fosters career awareness
• provides a window to the entire world of work
O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler
• The instrument is composed of 180 items describing work activities that represent a wide variety of occupations as well as a broad range of training levels
O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler
• Computer administration via single computer or computer network
• Simple and easy to follow instructions
• Screens motivate user completion of the instrument
• Approximately 30 minute completion time
O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler
• Available at no cost via the Internet or through NIC
Assessing Barriers
• Survey of Offender Barriers to Re-Entry and Employment
• Re-Entry Readiness – Are You Ready?
Additional Assessment Tools
• Sample Reentry Guides
Career Briefs
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Career Guide to Industries
Pre-employment assistance
•Assistance with resumes and cover letters and guidance on how to search for employment opportunities•Assistance with the job application process
Labor Market Information
•Learning how to access up-to-date information•Job projections by state
Using the Career Resource Center Disk