![[JournalMast"]](PCJhead.GIF)
Peer Career Project Progress Report: Five Hundred Tips from Surfing with Career Experts
In the last issue of the Peer Counsellor Journal (12.1) a request was made for volunteers to participate in an experimental project that would deliver peer career information and services via the internet. The purpose of the project was to determine the value of the internet in providing peer career support services and to increase the role of peers in career awareness and development activities within their educational settings. A secondary purpose was to introduce project participants to the internet in general and provide a way for peer program supervisors as well as peer workers to access information and services available on the internet.
Twenty-two sites were selected, including 21 secondary schools and one college. A listserv was created to stimulate discussion, share information, and maintain contact between all participants. As a starting point, participants provided details to each other regarding heir peer programs. In some cases these descriptions were prepared by peer workers and in other cases the program leaders provided the information.
The key feature of this project is the use of the World-Wide Web to provide a variety of resources to each peer career program. The special WEB pages developed for this project contain:
- tips and hints on how to use the system;
- free access to all MAC and PC software necessary to easily navigate the internet;
- links to virtually every professional helping service and organization associated with or interested in career issues and career counselling;
- access to online career preparation services to assist in career awareness, job searching techniques, resume writing, goal setting, and self-assessment;
- links to online employment, job searching services, employer-employee matching services, placement services, and job banks for various jobs, trades and specializations;
- course calendars, sample courses and course assignments, degree program requirements, contact information and campus details for virtually all post-secondary institutions in North America with an internet connection as well as links to educational institutions that provide services exclusively online, and sites associated with taking graduate and undergraduate admissions tests;
- links to sites that provide information useful for peer career work such as working with First Nations, women, disabled, and other groups, gaining information on first aid, health, financial aid, and other areas; and
- lesson plans to be used to strengthen and supervise peer career worker training.
The target groups for this project are peer career programs associated with schools. A variety of online links have been organized to help adolescents with their career education and development as well as job and education opportunities. However, many of the online links assembled for this project are useful to the career interests of adults and consequently can be used by the teachers, counsellors, and other educators associated with this project. The comprehensive nature of the resources, which are updated continuously, and the ability to explore these resources from one place means that this site will be useful for anyone who is interested in career transition, career change, or career and education opportunities. Following the assessment of the results phase of the pilot project, recommendations will be made as to access for other potential users. Stay tuned!
The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.
| Warren Bennis |