Junior

Junior Jobmatch! is based on a careers education package used in secondary schools.

It has been adapted for use with younger pupils and may play a useful role in helping

to deliver some of the aims of careers-related learning at Key Stage 2.

To broaden children’s horizons and raise aspirations

To challenge low aspirations and stereotypical thinking

To present a range of opportunities at an early stage

To raise awareness in children and families about choices and options for the future

To develop within young people the skills to investigate opportunities, plan, make

choices and decisions

To lay the foundation for the important decisions children make at Key Stages 3 & 4

The original version of Jobmatch! is designed for careers education programmes in

Years 9 and 10. Through games and activities with playing cards, it aims to help

young students become more aware of the wide range of skills and personal qualities

required by many jobs. Some activities also involve self-assessment exercises to help

students reflect on their own interests, skills and personal qualities, and consider ways

in which these may be developed. Rather than match youngsters to the ‘right job’, the

programme emphasises that, in a changing economy, they must have an adaptable

attitude to work and eagerly seize any available opportunities.

With its lively illustrations and flexible nature, Jobmatch! has proved very popular

with careers teachers and tutors since it was originally introduced in 1995.

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Jobmatch! consists of a Tutor’s Manual, 40 jobs cards, 36 demand cards and 4 jokers.

In the junior version of Jobmatch!, the demand cards are called skill cards and have

been replaced with a pack of cards illustrating young people in the appropriate age

range drawn from variety of ethnic groups. The descriptions on the cards have been

simplified for younger readers but the numbering of each card remains the same.

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! A job card A skill card A joker

The main Tutor’s Notes contains several games and group activities which are easily

adapted for use with younger pupils. For example, here is a simplified version of the

Jobmatch! game described in the notes on pages 5-7.

Junior Jobmatch!

Corridor Briefing (or memory jogger): This is a game in which small teams take

turns at matching skill cards to selected job cards.

Purpose: The aim of the game is to help young students become more aware of the

wide range of skills and personal qualities required by many jobs today. It should

help them appreciate that although a job often demands one or more distinctive skills,

it will require other skills and personal qualities which are not always immediately

apparent.

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Players: Each individual game requires four small teams containing from one to four

players.

Resources: You will require one pack of job cards and one pack of skill cards.

Procedure

(i) Each team receives nine skill cards.

(ii) The job cards are shuffled and one card is turned over to reveal a job.

(iii) The teams take turns at finding and describing a link between one of their skill

cards and the selected job. For example: 9. I am calm in an emergency would be a

good link with the job of a police officer.

(iv) Each time a link is described and agreed, one point is awarded to the team

(v) When the players are unable to find any more links between the job and the cards

they hold, another job card is selected and the game continues until a range of jobs

have been covered.

(vi) The winner of the game is the team with the most number of points

To assist a referee, pages 19-20 in the Tutor’s Notes provide a list of jobs, their

descriptions and related skill cards.

Review. Page 7 of the Tutor’s Notes provides some useful discussion topics

following the game.

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The other five activities in the Tutor’s Notes require very little adjustment for a

younger audience. They are:

What’s My Line? To help pupils study the duties and demands of different jobs

Opinions: To explore pupils’ attitudes towards different types of work

Links: To help pupils appreciate how different jobs share common skills

My Interests: To help pupils identify their developing interests and values

My Skills: To help students assess their skills and personal qualities and to consider

ways in which these might be developed.

The remaining contents of this pack are as follows:

! 40 Job Cards

! 36 Skill Cards

! 4 Jokers

! The Tutor’s Notes for the original version of Jobmatch!

The sets of cards could be copied on a suitable card material for handling.

Feedback. If you use this material with your pupils, any comments to

crowley@macace.net would be much appreciated. As they say on Ebay, please ask

any questions and thanks for looking!

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