Careers and Sustainability

Careers and sustainability – how can we raise students’ awareness as they make their career choices?

As part of the school program, 10-year-olds receive specific guidance on their career choices. From the start of the semester onwards, counsellors work with teachers to offer courses designed to help them make their career choice in a fun way. These classes are based on the teaching resource ‘First steps towards a choice’(more information in French: Premiers pas vers un choix).

The main objective is to help each student get to know themselves better and identify their interests, skills and values. The course also aims to present the education system and admission requirements, and to teach students how to actively search for information about careers and courses. Steps to make the project a reality are discussed: organising internships, searching for apprenticeships, writing CVs and cover letters. This gives students the tools they need to ‘design’ their educational path.

The link between career choices and the ecological transition

In the context of the ecological transition, professions are evolving and skills are changing, increasingly focusing on sustainability. This is why this theme has been incorporated into the First Steps Towards a Choice course.

Through the ‘Careers and Sustainability’ activity, students learn about environmental issues and how they relate to the professional world. Spread over two school terms, the course begins with an introduction to the concepts of ecological transition, illustrated by infographics created by biologist and science communicator Lila Thiébaud (more information in French: Lila Thiébaud). This visual aid provides an accessible way to address concepts such as:

1. The planet as our shared home and the need to preserve its resources;
2. Sustainability in the face of finite raw materials;
3. The transitions needed to achieve more environmentally friendly production.

The second phase of the activity invites students to observe how any profession can contribute to these transitions. Through images by illustrator Shinku depicting committed professionals, students are encouraged to consider their future role in building a more sustainable world.

A set of digital resources is available to teachers and counsellors to further this reflection, which serves as a bridge between personal aspirations and collective challenges.