Choosing Career Clusters and Pathways during high school helps students to explore and investigate potential careers which may fit their life plans.  Career Clusters identify pathways from secondary school to two- and four-year colleges, graduate school, and the workplace, so students can link what they learn in school and what they can do in the future. Career Clusters allow students to access a nationwide framework to help them better analyze their long- and short-term career goals, plan what to take in high school to begin to move toward those goals, and implement strategies for further education and work experience that will prepare them for high-skill, high-wage, high-demand careers in the 21st Century.

 

The States' Career Clusters Framework for Lifelong Learning updates the Career Pathways used previously in North Carolina and provides links to related academic instruction and electives. The States' Career Clusters initiative further developed pathways to provide a national structure for this effort. The Career Clusters initiative includes 16 clusters and 79 related pathways. 

 

Choosing a Career Cluster and Pathway should be interesting but not stressful.  Students should start out by taking courses they LOVE, and more-often-than-not, these courses lead the student into a naturally evolving sequence of courses that allow them to explore their interests at a deeper level as they lay a foundation for future learning.

 

For information about Career Clusters and Pathways at Hickory Ridge High School, contact Kendra Glover, Career Development Coordinator, at kendra.glover@cabarrus.k12.nc.us.