SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITIONS.... HOW CAN WE MAKE THEM AS GOOD AS POSSIBLE?

8 years of my career were spent as a Career Educator at a community college.  During that time, I saw a great number of students transition from secondary to post secondary.  That transition can be very difficult for reasons related to maturation.  The student may be away from home for the first time, maybe not ready to self-regulate through the sea of adult choices.

There were so many services and supports that wrapped around those students and I was so proud to be a part of the journey in welcoming and helping them begin a new chapter.  But then, two or three years later....

The students had a new chapter that involved leaving the comfort-zone that they worked so hard to integrate into and going out into the world of possibilities.  I love that college graduates now have so many choices and options, but admit that it can all be very overwhelming and scary.  We do our best to connect them with employers, help them to reinvent themselves to fit into the demands of the labour market.  We infuse them with understand of generational differences, personality differences and typical expectations.  But, nothing can prepare them fully.  They need to learn by doing.

So, as I think about modern problem through a historical lens, I wonder:

Historically, what orientation have schools had to the transition process?  Were these formal, or informal?

What community or industry structures helped or hindered the transition?

How can we create more positive school to work transitions?