Conservation New

Explore green careers for a sustainable future

Learn what people do in a variety of careers and how these careers can connect to the green economy. Discover different careers that match your interests and skills.

Grade

8-12

Duration

1 hour

Type

Hands on

Overview

Exploring the myriad of career opportunities available in today's evolving job market is essential for students. Understanding how different professions impact and integrate with sustainable practices is becoming increasingly important. Through engaging activities, students are offered the chance to delve into the specifics of various careers, comprehend their significance and reflect on the broader implications of these professions within the green economy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3SYENyP2E

Instructions

What you'll need

Computer and TV or projector
“Green career for a sustainable future” slideshow
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3SYENyP2E
Scrap paper and pens per student
Student's individual access to a computer or tablet
“Career possibilities” student handout, print one copy per student

What’s a green career?

Start by putting students in groups of 2-3 students and provide each group with scrap paper and pens.
Pull up the “Green career for a sustainable future” slideshow and starting at slide 2 share you will show a variety of careers like architect and accountant with descriptions of what these people might do. Students can discuss in their groups, choose only the ones that apply and record their choices. The answers are revealed on the following slides with a summary description of the career. There are eight careers included.
At slide 19 show the eight careers reviewed and discuss as a class which of these careers could be considered a “green job”. Slide 20 reveals that all of them could have a sustainability lens applied to them and includes some of our ideas as to why and how.
At slide 21 ask students individually to think of three reasons why someone might choose a career in the green economy and record their ideas.
Have students share their ideas and at slide 22 reveal some reasons why people choose a path in the green economy.
At slide 23 summarize that the future holds many possibilities in career choices and watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y3SYENyP2E.

Take the quizzes

7. Provide each student with a copy of the “Career possibilities” student handout and individual access to a computer or tablet.

8. Invite students to follow the instructions on the handout and go to https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/career-planning/quizzes#careerQuiz and complete the three “Explore career possibilities” quizzes: interests, abilities and work activities. Have students summarize their results and list three possible matching occupations on the handout for each of the three quizzes.

Analyze your findings

9. Next, have students choose three occupations from their results that interest them and that fit into the green economy and explain how they could/would be a sustainable job. Students may consider the following:

a. Some organizations have sustainability missions and may hire people in the sector you are exploring. Research what those organizations could be.

b. Organizations without a sustainability focus may still have climate change targets or environmental stewardship goals.

c. Organizations that don’t currently have sustainability focuses will likely be looking to adapt to a growing green economy. Consider how some positions could influence that change.

10. Wrap up the activity by asking students to share some of the careers they discovered.

Modify or extend this activity

Pull up the “Dig deep into green jobs” activity to continue this unit “Careers in the Green Economy: Sustainable career paths”.
Invite students to take the “explore your personality quizzes on the following page:
https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/career-planning/quizzes#careerQuiz

Curriculum Fit

Career Education 8 & 9

Big ideas

Reflecting on our preferences and skills helps us identify the steps we need to take to achieve our career goals.
Our career paths reflect the personal, community, and educational choices we make.

Content

Personal development: self-assessment for career research.
Community connections: local and global needs and opportunities, and factors affecting types of jobs in the community.

Competencies

Use self-assessment and reflection to develop awareness of their strengths, preferences, and skills.
Question self and others about how individual purposes and passions can support the needs of the local and global community when considering career choices.
Recognize and explore diverse perspectives on how work contributes to our community and society.

Career-Life Education (CLE) (10-12)

Big ideas

Career-life choices are made in a recurring cycle of planning, reflecting, adapting, and deciding.
Career-life decisions are influenced by internal and external factors, including local and global trends.

Content

Career-life development: self-assessment and reflection strategies.
Connections with community: factors that both inform career-life choices and are influenced by them, including personal, environmental, and land use factors and ways to contribute to community and society that take cultural influences into consideration.

Competencies

Experience: Identify career-life challenges and opportunities and generate and apply strategies.
Initiate: Explore and reflect on career-life roles, personal growth, and initial planning for preferred career-life pathways.

Career-Life Connections (CLC) (10-12)

Big ideas

Career-life development includes ongoing cycles of exploring, planning, reflecting, adapting, and deciding.
Career-life decisions influence and are influenced by internal and external factors, including local and global trends.

Content

Personal career-life development: factors that shape personal identity and inform career-life choices and reflection strategies.
Connections with community: career-life exploration.
Career-life planning: self-assessment to achieve goals that advance preferred career-life futures and labor market trends, and local and global influences on career-life choices.
Career-life choices are made in a recurring cycle of planning, reflecting, adapting, and deciding.

Competencies

Examine: Analyze internal and external factors to inform personal career-life choices for post-graduation planning.
Experience: Engage in, reflect on, and evaluate career-life exploration.

Assessments

Assess students’ understanding of why they might choose a green career path.
Assess students’ group work, co-operation, and collaboration in the trivia.
Assess students’ focus by taking the career quizzes and reflection with the resulting career options.

Teaching Notes

Government of Canada Job Bank

This site is a comprehensive resource on career planning, market information, and job searches. Students can take the “explore career possibilities” quizzes and/or the “explore your personality quizzes” to guide the process of exploring careers. Many of the jobs suggested after taking the quizzes are green jobs.

What is a career in sustainability, and why might you be interested?

Sustainability is less a sector and more a highly diverse area that cuts across many industries – broadly, a ‘job in sustainability’ means performing a role that combines environmental, social, and economic factors, and has a strong focus on environmental or social justice issues. 

You might be interested in working in sustainability because of:

a value you hold (for example, an accountant may really care about the social and environmental regeneration of their local area and choose to work for an organization promoting this),
a knowledge base you have (for example, you might hold a degree in a sustainability-related subject or have previous relevant work experience),
the career opportunities this growing sector presents, or
a combination of the above.

Excerpt from source.

Check out the following BC Hydro websites for career information