I have heard the term career navigator come up at multiple conference sessions across the country and during the IET Design Camps. However, not all career navigators all do the same things. If you are a career navigator or have career navigators in your local area, please comment in this discussion post about:
- What types of activities a career navigator does with adult learners
-If another partner is providing the career navigator, who is that partner (Title I, public library, community organization, etc..)
-What qualifications are required to be a career navigator (degree, certification, work experience, etc...)
I will also add some resources in the comments over the next few days and encourage other members to share resources as well!
Comments
Copying this post in this discussion feed in case anyone is interested-
The U.S. Department of Education is sponsoring the Connecting Adults to Success Study – and we are recruiting adult education providers to receive free training and participate in the study!
This new study will examine whether training for career navigators increases adult learners’ further education, employment, and earnings. Adult education providers that participate in the study receive a free, nationally recognized training for their staff who provide career navigation services. The training is designed to help staff develop core competencies to guide learners as they explore and plan for college, training, or jobs. All providers will receive the training, and a lottery will determine the timing of training.
We are looking for adult education providers that currently have staff with dedicated time spent on career navigation services and want to offer enhanced training to these staff. To learn more and get involved, please contact Linda Rosenberg at AdultEdStudy@mathematica-mpr.com.
Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE & ESOL Classroom- Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE & ESOL Classroom is a ready-to-use, flexible curriculum that adult educators can use to incorporate career awareness and planning into their instructional and counseling activities.
WorkforceGPS Career Navigator Toolkit- The toolkit is a collection of promising practices from career navigators in Colorado.
College and Career Navigator Trainer Manual- This trainer manual was developed by the NCTN for Accelerating Opportunity (AO), a Jobs for the Future initiative. AO seeks to change the way Adult Basic Education is delivered by connecting crucial pieces of the puzzle that are preventing lower-skilled adults from entering and completing postsecondary education.
PA Adult Education Resources Career Coaching Resources-The resources in this section can be used to inform or enhance the implementation of career coaching strategies.
Indiana Career Coaching Website- This site is a resource for all career coaches across the state of Indiana.
Illinois Career Navigator Resources- A collection of career navigator resources from Illinois' programs.
Minnesota Department of Correction's Career Navigators Program- This resource may be of interest for individuals that work in correctional settings.
Skill Up Washington Guide and Tools for Navigators-The “Guide and Tools for Navigators” incorporates what was learned through a special project and presents the main principles, tools and practices emerging from this work about the important and influential role that Navigators have on the college and career success of students.
In addition to the resources that Chrissie posted last week, the National College Transition Network (NCTN) offers a free, 3-hours, self-paced online course: Finding True North - The Role of the Navigator. . The course introduces the core functions and responsibilities of a Navigator, such as coordinating and providing services that supplement academic instruction – which have been found to aid student persistence and success. It also introduces the core competencies of effective Navigators, advising approaches and styles, and Navigator program design elements to consider. This course is a prerequisite for the facilitated Navigating Pathways to Opportunity course (one of the courses selected for the Connecting Adults to Success Study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
The course is a great foundation for new Navigators and Coaches and also helps administrators develop a job description for new when hiring new navigators.
In addition to Navigator training, check out our many Navigator and Coach resources: Tech Tools for Coaches and Navigators, Advising Student with Foreign Degrees and Credentials and the Personal & Workplace Success Skills Library (you can filter by resources type "Advising and Coaching Tool" or browse as you like).
As Chrissie said in an earlier post, there is a lot of variation in Navigator job descriptions, and well there should be. Program and student goals, the number of students a Navigator is responsible for and the hours they have for the work, and the availability of other resources available (see Chrissie's question about partnerships) all contribute to the design of the program. (At NCTN we refer to navigation as "program" and not just a "person". It's important to think programmatically and encourage all staff to collaborate with the Navigator to integrate education and career planning and holistic support into the curriculum.
This slide outlines some of the factors that influence the variation in Navigator Program design. Are these the factors that shape your Navigator role or progrm design? What other factors come into play for you and/or your program?
Thanks for sharing those resources, Sandy. The True North course has been taken by many adult education practitioners in Pennsylvania and is a great course! We have seen many people work to make overall program changes after completion of the course. The pandemic has also caused programs to re-evaluate their navigation services.