1. JOB SHADOWING:
A GUIDE TO DELIVERING AN
EFFECTIVE CAREER
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Anthony Mann with Aaron Levine and Wenka Wentzel
Education and Skills webinar
17 November 2022

2. OECD Career Readiness
In the first phase of the Career Readiness project, we reviewed national longitudinal datasets in
ten countries, confirming 11 commonplace teenage career-related predictors of better
employment outcomes at age 25: Indicators of Career Readiness
A continuing Career Readiness project is
• Identifying international practice linked to the predictors
• Exploring the use of digital technologies in guidance for youth,
• Investigating how guidance can enhance access to ‘green jobs’ and address inequalities, and
• Undertaking national reviews of career guidance
Visit the project website: https://www.oecd.org/education/career-readiness/
Sign up to our free monthly newsletter: career.readiness@oecd.org
Follow me on twitter: @AnthonyMannOECD
Contact me: Anthony.Mann@oecd.org

3. Welcome
Published today - our new policy brief
Job shadowing: a guide to
delivering an effective career
development activity
Drawing on practice in Canada, Germany,
Malta and the United States
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/job-
shadowing_614f4e25-en
First of ten short papers on effective practice in
guidance to be published over the next two
years.

4. Today’s webinar
• Aaron Levine, Work-based Learning Specialist, Chicago
Public Schools, United States
• Wenka Wentzel, Social Researcher, Competence Centre
for Technology, Diversity and Equal Opportunties,
Germany

5. What is job shadowing?
Job shadowing is a career development activity that is:
• Undertaken by secondary school students
• Designed to enable a student to explore a specific
occupation or vocational area of personal interest
• Based on observation and discussion
• Undertaken in a workplace, typically over a day, by
students individually or in small groups

6. How does job shadowing compare to similar
activities?
Workplace visit Job shadowing Work placement
(internship)
Purpose Career exploration Career exploration Skill development
and career
confirmation
Primary
activity
Observing and
hearing from people
in work
Engaging with people
in work through
observation and
conversation
Undertaking tasks
Duration A few hours Between a half and a
full day
One to two weeks

7. Job shadowing in a developmental model of
workplace engagement within career guidance
Ages c.10-c.14
Exposure to the world of
work through class
discussions, job fairs,
career talks with guest
speakers and workplace
visits.
Ages c.13-c.16
Individual exploration of
the world of work through
career talks with guest
speakers, career
conversations, student
research, development of
CV and interview skills and
job shadowing.
Ages c.16-c.18
Experience of the world
of work through work-
related projects, student
enterprises, volunteering
in the community,
reflection on part-time
employment and work
placements.
Adapted from Dave Turner’s WE3 Continuum: https://www.oecd.org/education/career-
readiness/examples-of-practice/collapsecontents/New%20Zealand%20WE3%20for%20Web.pdf

8. Who job shadows?
Percentage of students by socio-economic status participating in "job shadowing or
workplace visits“ – PISA 2018.

9. What impact does job shadowing have? (Three
regression analyses)
Study Findings
Neumark and Rothstein (2005)
Do School-to-Work Programs Help the "Forgotten
Half"?
United States: National Longitudinal Study of Youth
• greater likelihood of university enrolment for all students,
• greater number of week in work (young women).
• reduced ‘idleness’ for young disadvantaged women
Covacevich et al. (2021)
Indicators of teenage career readiness: An analysis
of longitudinal data from eight countries
United States: Educational Longitudinal Study
• Higher earnings (9.7%) at age 24 (combining job shadowing and
workplace visits)
Mann et al. (2018)
Contemporary transitions: Young Britons Reflect on
Life After Secondary School and College
United Kingdom: National survey of young adults aged 19-24
• Higher earnings (11%)

10. Why can job shadowing be expected to be effective?
• Longitudinal studies in Australia, Canada and Korea show
workplace visits (that may include some job shadowing)
are linked with better outcomes
• Evaluation of the 2018 Girls’ Day initiative found that
38% of participating employers had received enquiries
regarding employment or participation in training
programmes from girls taking part in the day and 20%
had subsequently employed a female candidate as a
result.

11. How job shadowing can be expected to provide
resources of value: a conceptualisation
Human Capital
* Relevant work experience
* New skills
Social Capital
* New, trusted information
* Useful people (advice,
recommendations, job offers)
Cultural Capital
* Visualising and planning a future
* Personal confidence/agency
* The ‘rules of the game’
Thinking
High clear ambitions that
understand how education
links to jobs
Experiencing
Part-time working,
volunteering, internships
Exploring
Career talks, job fairs,
workplace visits, job
shadowing, recruitment
skills, conversations

12. Job Shadowing @ Chicago Public Schools
Aaron Levine
CPS Work-Based Learning Specialist
ajlevine@cps.edu

13. 13
VISION STATEMENT: Why we do this work
All CPS students will participate in educationally rich, authentic, high quality work-based
learning experiences in order to ensure their understanding of various career pathways
and to build their professional network. Students will be empowered with the skills and
knowledge they need to succeed in the career they pursue.

14. What are our Work-Based Learning Goals?
▷ Scaling opportunities for
Seniors (12th grade)
▷ Increase strategic
partnerships who will
provide WBL opportunities
at all stages of the WBL
Continuum
▷ Increase Middle School
programming to support career
awareness and applications into
CTE programs.
▷ Create an infrastructure that
compliments the WBL Toolkit for
schools to run their own WBL
programs
14

15. How? Work Based Learning Continuum
Students learn about
future career
opportunities across a
variety of industries by
participating in career
days and discussions
with guest speakers
Students engage directly
with employers and learn
about industries by
participating in site
visits, interviews, and
job shadowing
opportunities
Students gain direct
experience in
professional settings by
participating in and
observing work first
hand through
internships and
apprenticeships.

16. Purpose of Job Shadowing
Job shadowing provides students with an up-
close look at a particular occupation,
company, industry, and career path.
The activities are designed to:
● Promote exploration of a field of interest
● Help students make the connection
between school and the workplace
● Inform career planning
16

17. Approach to Implementation
17
Job shadowing is supported by three formats that deliver unique
experiences to students and employers.
The activities are organized through…
● Classroom preparation, including research on the occupation,
its industry and the participating company
● Employer orientation and support
● Opportunities to reflect upon the experience verbally and in
writing

18. Preparation - Employer
▷ Year-round relationship building with employers (strategic partners)
across the city
▷ Meet in advance to find what the employer can offer and what employer
can gain
▷ Provide information to specialist to transfer to school for their
preparation
▷ Receive information on best practices & survey
18

19. Preparation - Classroom
▷ Share opportunities w/ teachers, (descriptions, locations,
times, tasks)
▷ Pre-emptive visits (guest speaker or specialist info)
▷ Teachers makes space in their lesson for students to
research
▷ Pre-test / Post-test & teacher survey
19

20. Outcomes
Job shadowing helps students learn about future
workplace opportunities through embedding them in
businesses or organizations in the community.
The activities are connected to…
● Individual career development/training plans
● Future work-based learning activities
● The student's next steps
20

21. Tools and Materials
Our toolkits power our actions and outcomes
▷ Coordinator checklist
▷ Student checklist
▷ Teacher tips
▷ Employer tips and facts
▷ Activities & reflections
▷ Evaluations (teacher, coordinator, host, student)
21

22. Toolkit facts
▷ Public access https://www.cps.edu/academics/work-
based-learning/toolkit/job-shadowing/
▷ Aligned to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), ACTE’s High Quality CTE and Illinois
Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act
22

23. Partner Testimonials
"Having the perspective of a young adult and the energy, questions, and level of interest was
inspiring. Many enjoyed meeting (the intern) and interacting with them. Our org gained and gave
from the experience."
- Chapin Hall
"(We) worked with two interns this summer and it was a great experience. We got quick and
thorough assistance from the work-based learning team."
- CLZ PC
"I value this intern's ability to work through challenges independently, bringing me a solution to
the problem that blocked her." - mHub
"Please keep sending us Mr. Green’s students! He knocking them out of the park consistently"
- Pipefitters Local 597
"This is the second year for our shop. By far (the intern) is the best student. He is reliable,
knowledgeable, great communication skills, overall a hard worker with willingness to learn. It
was a pleasure to have him in our shop and wouldn't mind having him again next year."
- Gerber Collision & Glass 23

24. Thank you for your time!
24

25. Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Equal Chances
Wenka Wentzel
Girls‘Day – Future prospects for Girls
Boys‘Day – Future prospects for Boys

26. Career orientation day for either girls or boys
with gender specific focus
• Career orientation day for girls
• Professions and activities in technology, natural sciences
and crafts
• Enterprises, universities, research centers or handicraft
businesses organize an open day for girls
• Career orientation day for boys
• Professions and activities in education, the social sector
and health-care
• Day care center, retirement homes and employers in
office and administration organize an open day for boys
18.11.2022 26
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Girls‘Day / Boys‘Day
photo: kompetenzz | Steffi Behrmann
photo: kompetenzz

27. • The training and labor market in Germany is strongly
segregated by gender.
• Women often work in health and social professions
and in social and cultural service occupations. Men
often work in production occupations.
• Often, young people base their career choices on
traditional patterns and thus limit their range of
career choices.
 Adverse effects:
• For young people who don’t always choose jobs
according to their interests and talents
• For enterprises and the economy in general, because
there is a lack of skilled labor especially in the fields
which are gender dominated, e.g. care professions
and STEM fields
18.11.2022 27
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Labor market and Gender
Stereotypes
photo: https://freesvg.org

28. • Addressed to girls / boys from 10 years upward.
• Takes places annually at a fixed date (every 4th Thursday of
April).
• Girls’Day: Funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and
Research and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior
Citizens, Women and Youth.
Boys’Day: Funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs,
Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
• Directed to all actors involved in vocational orientation from
different perspectives (girls / boys, employers, schools, parents,
public).
18.11.2022 28
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Girls‘Day / Boys‘Day
photo: kompetenzz| Björn Gaus

29. 18.11.2022 29
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Girls‘Day 2019 (before COVID)
Registered events: 10.500
Places for girls: 97.300
Boys‘Day 2019 (before COVID)
Registered events: 7.400
Places for boys: 21.700
Participants
Founded in…
photo: #studioanimanova

30. Nationwide Coordination Center Girls’Day and Boys’Day
• Inform, assist and connect all target groups
• Maintain the internet-platforms, support the matching
• Organize the nationwide public relations and
sensitize the public to career orientation beyond clichés
• Issue and ship the handouts and information materials
• Evaluation
Regional Working Groups
• Close cooperation between trade unions,chambers, employers' associations,employment offices,
women’s representatives and other multipliers
• Work together to organize Girls’Day or Boys’Day in their region
18.11.2022 30
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Support

31. 18.11.2022 31
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Implementation
Entreprises
• Plan the event
• Register in matching-tool, describe the event
• Get in touch with the registered participants, give
information about preparation
• Organize the event and keep in touch with girls and boys
afterwards
Girls/Boys
• Look for an appropriate event in matching tool (region,
kind of enterprise, profession of interest)
• Register in matching-tool
• Prepare for the event
• Reflect their experiences, talk about it in school
Schools
• Support younger pupils in registration and organization
• Talk in class about vocational orientation and gender
stereotypes. (Material is available on website)
• Preparation and reflection afterwards

32. 18.11.2022 32
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
“In which area of ​​activity would you like to work in the future?”
First and second measurement: top two values ​​on a scale of 5, participated in the offer in the respective occupational area
Technical professions
Informatics and IT
Scientific professions
Craft
40%
37%
52%
23%
45%
42%
53%
24%
Sales and retail
Social and educational
professions
Health and care
Office and
administrative jobs
15%
42%
31%
35%
19%
49%
36%
38%
t0
t1
Evaluation

33. • Participation in Girls‘Day and Boys‘Day are just one
element on the way to vocational orientation
without clichés
• Girls and Boys need long-term projects beyond
Girls‘ and Boys‘Day
• Further contact between the company and girls or
boys leads to sustainable orientation
• Preparation and debriefing in schools
is essential
18.11.2022 33
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
Further steps needed
photo: kompetenzz| Juan Zamalea

34. 18.11.2022 34
© 2022 | Kompetenzzentrum Technik-Diversity-Chancengleichheit e. V.
• Girls‘Day in many european countries, e.g.
Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Norway
• Boys‘Day in some european countries, e.g.
Austria, Belgium, Switzerland
• Girls‘Day in African and MENA countries: Benin,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Yvory Coast
Girls‘Day/Boys‘Day international
photos: Tim Reckmann, licence: CC-BY 2.0
Contact and information
• www.girls-day.de
• www.boys-day.de
• wentzel@kompetenzz.de