UNIT:B
Educational and Career Exploration
Competency
Evaluate career information in relation to career goals.
CM04.00
Objective
CM04.03
Journal
Prompt(s)
Explain employment trends in terms of changing societal needs and
economic conditions.
In what ways will societal needs impact my career planning?
How will economic and employment trends impact my employability and
lifestyle?
How will my willingness to relocate impact my ability to reach educational
and career goals?
How will lifelong learning be critical to my success in the workplace?
OUTLINE
Objective 4.03: Explain employment trends in terms of changing societal needs and economic
conditions.
A. Explain employment trends in terms of societal needs.
1. Explain social changes that have promoted a need for service
occupations.
a. Women in the workforce
b. Aging population
c. Dual income families
d. Commuting distance/time increasing
e. Increasingly diverse workforce and customers
f. Concern for health/fitness
g. New ways of communicating
h. Concern for recreation/entertainment
2. Explain how world events affect goods and services.
a. War
b. Natural disaster
c. Change of government structure
d. Embargo’s/tariff’s
e. Terrorism
3. Explain how rapid technological advances have promoted a need
for technology producing occupations.
a. Communication methods
b. Telecommuting
c. Manufacturing implications
d. Video/voice conferencing
4. Infer impact of social needs regarding career cluster selected.
B. Explain employment trends in terms of economic conditions,
including employment trends.
1. Implications of the changing workplace
a. Work trends timeline
1). Colonial Period (to late 1700’s) – Family owned farms
(livestock, poultry, and grain)
2). Growth of a New Nation (late 1700’s to early 1800’s) –
Town trades (shop owners, bankers, blacksmiths)
3). The Industrial Revolution/Progressive Era (late 1800’s
to early 1900’s) – Industry development (steel,
machinery)
4). Post War America (1945 through the turn of the
century) – growth of service related industry
(business, transportation, communication, personal)
5). Knowledge and Information Era (2000 to present) –
growth of high technology industry/business (PC’s,
Telecommunication, Internet, E-mail, CAD/CAM,
World Wide Web)
(http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/curricul.htm )
b. Workplace 2000
1). Flexibility/creativity vs. endurance/loyalty
2). Feedback frequently vs. yearly
3). Rewards for performance vs. automatic rewards
4). Team rated vs. individually rated
5.) Employee self-control vs. managerial control
6). Continuous learning vs. ends at graduation
(Workforce Development Institute)
2. Explain employment implications of globalization.
a. Free Enterprise system.
1). Freedom to own property
2). Freedom to buy and sell goods
3). Contributions of people
a.) Strong economy
1.) Produce labor
2.) Spend money
b.) Weak economy
1.) Cut back on spending
2.) Lay-offs/business closure
4). Contributions of industry
a.) Strong economy
1.) Produces goods
2.) Pays wages
b.) Weak economy
1) Cuts production
2) Increases prices
5). Economic cycles
a.) Inflation
b.) Recession
c.) Depression
b. Implications of Globalization/Global economy
1.) Diverse customers
2.) New ways of communication
3.) Outsourcing of manufacturing
4.) Global competition
5.) Less unskilled jobs available
6.) E-commerce
7.) Telecommuting
3. Explain employment trends.
a. Resources
1.) Access the Career Outlook Handbook at
http://www.wcpss.net/school_to_career/resources/ to
find information about NC employment trends
related to occupations in the Agricultural and
Natural Resources Technologies, Arts and
Sciences, Biological and Chemical Technologies,
Business Technologies, Commercial and Artistic
Production Technologies, Construction Technologies,
Engineering Technologies, Health Sciences, Industry
Technologies, Public Services Technologies and the
Transport Systems Technologies career clusters.
2.) Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
3.) Professional organizations/journals
b. National trends
1). Service producing vs. goods producing industries
2). Information producing industries
3). Increase in careers requiring education beyond
high school
c. Local/Regional labor market data
1). Economic Development Council
2). Employment Security Commission
3). Department of Labor
4. Infer impact of economic and employment trends regarding career
cluster selected.
A. Explain employment, economic and societal trends in relation to
geographic mobility.
1. Explain the impact of world events on the economy and
employment.
a. Economy/competition
1). Strong economy – People move in to find employment
opportunities.
2). Weak economy – People move out for new
employment opportunities.
b. Governmental action (sanctions/incentives)
c. Outsourcing of labor
d. Job growth/transfer
e. Transportation/commuting
f. Owner occupant households
g. Rural occupants to urban areas to find employment opportunity
h. Constant movement of residence from urban to suburb to rural
2. Compare the benefits and disadvantages of relocation.
a. Benefits
1). Can help sustain economic growth
2.) Can match people successfully to available jobs based
on qualifications
3.) Lowers unemployment rate
4.) Allows an individual to move up socially
5.) Can access personal enrichment
resources/experiences
6.) Company relocation benefits provided
b. Disadvantages
1.) Impact of social mobility on child and elder care
2.) Cost of moving
3.) Dual income families – both spouses finding
employment
4.) Selling home
5.) Losing social support network
3. Summarize mobility trend in US. (CURRENTLY DECLINING)
4. Explain the feasibility of geographical mobility regarding the career
cluster selected.
D. Exemplify reasons why changes may require upgrading of employee’s
skills.
1. Employment change
a. Types
1). Voluntary
2). Involuntary
b. Reasons
1). Keep up with changing technology
2.) Job promotion/transfer
3). Job outlook
4). Job loss
5). Career change
6). Changing job description/job duties
2. Implications for career planning
a. SCANS Competencies/Transferable Skills
b. Lifelong Learning
c. Analysis of case study work histories