Parents As Career Coaches – teams planning for their child’s future
Allegany County United Way supports one of our newest programs, Parents as Career Coaches. Parents As Career Coaches (PACC) is designed to assist parents and caregivers on how to help their 5th grade child develop a career plan based on their individual skills and interests. This past year two PACC sessions were held in conjunction with Wellsville Central School. The 5th graders and their caregivers learn about the career planning process and how to develop a career plan that aligns with their child’s interests and skills.
Parent/child teams work together to discover their child’s skills and interests and jobs within their interest areas. Participants create family career trees to discover the diversity of their families’ work experiences. They explore non-traditional careers, local in-demand occupations and Career Pathways. Teams learn about the training and educational requirements for their individual career choice and the importance of course planning in high school. Upon completion of the 20 hours of workshops the students complete their comprehensive career plan and have a greater understanding of their skills and interests and educational goals.
Through the process the teams became closer and leave with a much better understanding of what it takes to be successful in the 21st Century workforce. Each program ends with a career fair and the participants share their dreams and discoveries with the entire group.
PACC offers caregivers and their child an opportunity to learn about each other and gives them the tools on how to assist their child in planning for their future career. PACC educates the teams on the importance of the career development process and how their child can build a successful career pathway that will moves with them throughout life.
Some comments from participants:
“The Parents as Career Coaches program is very practical in its straightforward approach. The activities were fun and enlightening and have been beneficial to our entire family. We enjoyed the program and the time spent together. Thank you United Way for your investment in our child’s future!”
“This program helped my form a stronger bond with my daughter and our entire family will be able to use the information. This program gave us important tools-children and parents can learn from this program!”
New sessions of PACC will be offered next year throughout Allegany County. If you are interested in how you can help your child or grandchild, contact Career Coach Joan Wissert at Literacy West NY at 585-268-5213 to reserve your spot today.