IS CAREER READINESS EDUCATION
RIGHT FOR ME?
Is Career Readiness Education Right for Me?
When you were little, you probably knew exactly what you wanted to be when you grew up—a firefighter, a nurse, or maybe even a teacher. Now that you’re older, that answer might not be so concrete. With so many career paths to take, you might not know which one to choose or what steps to take to get there. That’s where Destinations Career Academy can help.
Our tuition-free, personalized education gives you a clearer direction of what you can pursue after high school and equips you with the skills needed to succeed in highly-sought careers of the future. Destinations is powered by K12, a leader in online education with a proven record of student success, so you can feel confident that your future is in the right hands. Here’s everything you need to know about how Destinations can help you build a better future.
What Is Career Readiness Education?
Career readiness education (CRE) is Destinations' modern approach to giving high school students a jump start on their path to a career or college education. Through project-based learning—a student-centered method that focuses on problem-solving, collaboration, and real-world experiences—you can explore careers in diverse industries and develop the soft skills needed to excel.
CRE IS
Online School
Tuition-free
Career-focused
College preparation
Taught by state-certified Instructors
A different way to attain a high school diploma
CRE ISN'T
Home school
Expensive
Self-paced
Taught by parents
A way to attain a GED
Subjects include traditional core classes—like English, history, and math—along with career-focused electives. Our model readies you for the real world by preparing you for industry-recognized certification exams and enabling you to earn college credits*, giving you a competitive edge over your peers.
In addition to the curriculum, you can enroll in career clubs directly related to your chosen pathway, network with professionals, and engage in work-based experiences like internships, job shadows, or apprenticeships. CRE helps you develop real-world skills so you can set the course for your future.
How Does CRE Differ From Traditional Educational Systems?
Career readiness education was designed to help you find the right career in a sea of possibilities. Traditional education systems don’t always show you all the options, or give you the chance to test the waters. Destinations takes an in-depth look at your strengths and interests to help you determine your career fit in fast-growing industries.
Our program offers unique opportunities. In addition to AP® classes, some Destinations Career Academies allow you to earn dual college and high school credits in other classes.* Similarly, you can take a NOCTI® certification exam, which tests your skills to succeed in a specific career, and receive a College Credit Recommendation Report by scoring 70 percent or higher. These reports signify college-level credits earned outside of the classroom and are accepted by more than 1,500 colleges and universities around the country. Thus, they can give you a competitive edge against other students or job applicants. To help further your success, you can also prepare to take exams for industry-recognized certifications.
Student will have access to industry professionals
through class trips, internships, and events like Job Shadow Week.
During your time at Destinations, you’ll even have access to industry professionals through class trips and live sessions with people working in top companies in the U.S. Practice and build your skills during an apprenticeship, an internship, and events like Job Shadow Week. By showcasing your talents and interests on Tallo, a web-based networking platform, companies—like Toyota, Walmart, and Lockheed Martin—can easily find you and reach out with opportunities.
While CRE helps you to build relevant skills, Destinations also focuses on soft skills—like collaboration and leadership—which many hiring managers see as important qualities of strong applicants.
In fact, according to the Society for Human Resource Management1, 75 percent of recruiters say they had difficulty hiring because of a skills shortage and 50 percent feel the issue has worsened in the last two years.
Employers believe that more work needs to be done by organizations and education systems to ensure that the U.S. workforce is prepared for the future. In fact, 51 percent of the respondents believed that educational institutions had not addressed the shortage issue in their curriculum. That’s where CRE defies the status quo.
How Does CRE Benefit My Career?
Builds Confidence
Career readiness education builds your confidence by breaking down your options with exposure to many top careers. By better understanding your skills and interests, and by knowing more about the landscape for highly-sought careers, you’ll feel assured about navigating your path to success.
Our career counselors help you match you with the right track and map out the steps to get you there. Join career clubs* and attend online sessions with industry professionals via Nepris to learn what it takes to succeed and how you can better prepare yourself for your future job.
Gives You a Jump Start
We know how important success is to your future. That’s why CRE gives you a jump start on life after high school by giving you a competitive edge against other students and job applicants. This includes the ability to earn college credits, prepare for certifications, and participate in internships during your time in the program.* Plus, by identifying a career field early on, you can save time and money spent on exploring opportunities that aren’t a good fit for your skills and interests.
Helps You Develop Necessary Skills
In addition to building confidence and giving you a jump start, our program equips you with the job-specific skills that many entry-level job applicants lack.
Oral + Written Communication
Applicable Career Examples:
All Careers
From Hospitality to IT and Finance, clear communication is the number one requested skill2 in nearly every industry. That’s why CRE helps you refine these skills when job shadowing, applying for internship opportunities, and partaking in interactive discussions with industry professionals via Nepris.
You’ll also receive personalized feedback from instructors on your work and performance, just as you would in the workforce. By practicing real-world skills in career-focused courses, you can better apply them to the job itself when you get there.
Problem-Solving
Applicable Career Examples:
Mechanical Engineer, Travel Advisor, and Web Developer
In a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit,3 73 percent of senior executives chose problem-solving and critical thinking as the most important skill in the workplace. That said, many teens graduate high school without these important skills.
Through project-based learning, students find collaborative solutions to real-world problems. This isn’t only present in IT exploration and digital arts, but also in courses like agribusiness and marketing, where you learn about current events and issues that remain unsolved.
Leadership
Applicable Career Examples:
Small Business Owner, Head Chef, and Marketing Manager
When you think of a leader, you might think of someone who is well-spoken, punctual, responsible, and a team player. Leaders play a critical part in helping an organization reach its goals. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers,4 69 percent of managers look for employees with strong leadership skills. That said, 44 percent of respondents of a PayScale survey5 felt new grads lacked these universal skills.
With CRE, you’ll learn to take responsibility for your own success through classwork and assignments. A balance of independent work, project-based learning, and participation in career clubs* also gives you the opportunity to exercise other important professional skills—like collaboration and communication—which build a better leader.
Collaboration & Building Effective Relationships
Applicable Career Examples:
Hotel Manager, Medical Assistant, and Sales Associate
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit,3 63 percent of senior executives felt that collaboration was the most important skill in the workplace. With project-based learning, collaboration replaces the traditional methods of classroom competition to better replicate teamwork in the workplace. You’ll master these skills by engaging in brainstorming sessions, open-discussion lectures, and mixed-skilled teams. Career clubs also provide many opportunities for collaboration.*
Through these activities, you can learn to build effective relationships with teachers and peers, just as you would at work. Tallo, a web-based networking platform, also gives you the chance to connect with industry professionals online and through potential internships, creating opportunities for future recognition and employment.
Career Management
Applicable Career Examples:
All Careers
CRE allows you to be in control of your future. Thus, career management is naturally built into the program. In a study of high school students, 6 researchers found that those who practiced self-motivation and actively planned their careers were more likely to achieve their goals after graduation. By giving you the power to make your own decisions, you learn to seek out the next opportunity and understand how to achieve your dreams.
CRE equips you with a support team of dedicated teachers, as well as school and career counselors, who can help you select the right courses for your desired college or career path. They can also aid in goal setting, obtaining internships, and connecting with industry professionals. .
Soft skills are the stepping stones to a successful future. That’s why CRE uses project-based learning to help you develop these skills long before they’re needed in the workforce or college. CRE was designed for those who want to discover their passions, refine job-specific skills, and improve their candidacy for high-demand, well-paying careers.
Whether you choose a tuition-free public school, or the tuition-based private school offered through K12 Private Academy, the Destinations Career Academy program is available in all 50 states and around the world. † If you’re ready to set the course for your future through career readiness education, fill out the form below to be contacted by an advisor.
Discover your learning style and find out if CRE is the right fit for you.
1Society for Human Resource Management, The Global Skills Shortage: Bridging the Talent Gap with Education, Training and Sourcing, 2019
2Burning Glass Technologies, The Human Factor: The Hard Time Employers Have Finding Soft Skills, 2015
3TheEconomist Intelligence Unit, Closing The Skills Gap: companies and collages collaborating for change, 2014
4National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job Outlook, 2017
5PayScale, Workforce-Skills Preparedness Report, 2016
6Bissell, K.A., College and Career Readiness: An interview study of high school graduates and their descriptions of postsecondary life, 2017
††K12 is under a territorial non-compete obligation with another company that precludes us from enrolling students or shipping materials to students in the countries listed below while that company has territorial exclusivity. You can learn more about options in your area at icademymiddleeast.com.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
In addition, at this time, the United States has an embargo on the provision of certain products and services in the countries listed below that encompasses those provided by K12. As such, K12 is prohibited from entering into transactions with residents or resident companies.
Western Balkans, Belarus, Central Africa, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
