November is Canada Career Month, and we're excited to celebrate!
Agriculture is more than just farming—it’s a dynamic industry with roles in technology, environmental science, business, engineering, food production, and more. Our programs are designed to build career literacy and open doors to future careers for young Canadians.
Helping students consider their future careers can feel challenging, but making career literacy part of everyday learning brings it to life! With its essential role in our world, agriculture offers an exciting range of paths for students to explore. Here are five creative ways to integrate career exploration into your lessons and inspire students to envision their future in agriculture!
1. Use Ready-Made Resources
Creating engaging, interactive resources from scratch can feel overwhelming, but ready-made materials make it easy and fun to incorporate career literacy into your lessons. Ag in the Classroom Canada and its ten provincial members offer a variety of free, user-friendly tools like videos, career-alignment workbooks, lesson plans, and even in-classroom programming to connect students with exciting career paths in agriculture. Visit our Resource Library to download free, ready-to-use curriculum-linked resources.
2. Encourage Self-Discovery
Self-discovery is a key part of career literacy. Students who know what they’re passionate about and what skills they have to offer can better envision their future career. Ag in the Classroom’s thinkAG initiative includes the Holland Code game, helping students explore their personalities, interests, and preferences to match them with fitting agricultural careers.
3. Teach Real-World Skills Employers Seek
Career literacy includes knowing how classroom and 21st century skills connect to the workplace. Adding practical, job-related exercises to a lesson plan, gives students a sense of real-world application. Budgeting in math class or article writing in English can set students up for success with future employers. Integrate classroom or school-based garden programs for a chance to get in the soil and problem-solve timely and relevant topics related to agriculture and our food system through project-based learning.
4. Connect Students with Ag Experts
Directly engaging with professionals gives students a realistic picture of careers and builds their understanding of various job roles. Bringing students face-to-face with these industry experts allows them to ask their burning questions, see real job challenges, and understand how agriculture extends beyond production to science, business, technology, and more! Check out our thinkAG career profiles, where students can explore different roles, whether it’s working with animals, managing finances, or engineering new technology.
5. Provide Hands-On Experience
Practical experiences help students learn by doing, allowing them to try skills firsthand, build confidence, and assess which roles feel like a natural fit. Finding internship or shadowing opportunities for students is a great option. Attending local career fairs also allows students to meet with professionals and explore hands-on exhibits, giving them a direct look at agricultural careers. Ag in the Classroom Provincial Members organize engaging career events and expos. Visit their websites to learn more.
Building career literacy in your classroom doesn’t have to be complicated! With these five simple strategies, you can introduce students to the vital and diverse world of agriculture, helping them envision where they might fit into this essential industry. Let’s work together to nurture the next generation of agricultural leaders!