Career Development

Career Readiness Program Overview

ClearWater Academy’s career readiness courses provide structured work study programs that utilize community-based instruction. Our Career Placement and Career Development classes focus on increasing each student’s independence in the areas of employment, daily living, functional skills, and social communication skills in an employment setting. Through our community business partners, the program provides students with a variety of job training opportunities that will allow them to determine their strengths, interests, and needs. Much of the work is focused on improving the social skills necessary to improve the student’s communication skills and increase student’s understanding of the employer’s expectations. Our mission is to provide students with a highly structured positive learning environment so they can develop personal strategies toward employment independence. We foster a strong work ethic in our young people entering the workforce and cultivate the skills necessary to live as self-sufficient as possible.

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Areas of Study for Career Placement & Career Development Classes

Social skills/pragmatics for employment and daily living
Functional life skills
Work experience though job sampling, internships, and job shadowing
Supportive employment opportunities with on-site job coaching
Intentional planning for personal and career goals
Prescribed tools for self-evaluation of knowledge and skills
Self-advocacy on the job: learning to voice their opinion and/or address concerns regarding their differing abilities and/or supports they may need to complete their job responsibilities.
How to make decisions and problem solve in the moment on the job
Maintaining positive communication on the job
Staying motivated on the job.
Transitional skills for independent living to include the following: shopping, managing money/budget, cooking, and attending to personal needs such as hygiene and laundry skills.

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