The document provides a summary of ideas generated to help redesign the school-to-work transition for 18-year-old K moving to a larger city. The 67 ideas are grouped under 8 themes: 1) Responsive Education System 2) Village to Raise a Child 3) Reframe Definition of Success and Work 4) Discover Career Interests 5) Self-Discovery 6) Take Time - Experience Life 7) Create Connections 8) Learn Basic Life Skills. The document analyzes the most practical, disruptive, and favorite ideas which include career assessment, reverse job postings, and a guide for life skills questions.

1. Design Challenge: Redesign the School-
to-Work Transition
Ideate
Follow Up to Assignment 1: From High School to ????
Oh, The Places You Will Go*
Theresa Kingston
*From Dr. Seuss – I have used quotes from this book as it is the gift I traditionally give to youth graduating from High
School

2. From Assignment 1

3. Problem Statement
The Stakeholder:
K an 18 year old recent high school graduate who is both academically
and athletically gifted. She comes from a family with limited means.
She is moving to a larger city to seek employment.
Needs a way to:
Successfully experience living in a large city and seek out a variety of
opportunities so that she can discover her interests
Because:
She believes that discovering her interests will lead her to an
appropriate education/career path.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in
your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction
you choose. You're on your own. And you know
what you know. And YOU are the one who'll
decide where to go...”

4. Ideate Process
• Initial Brainstorm of
ideas – invited some
people to play.
• Grouped into 8 Themes
• Further brainstorming –
used the grid offered by Karla McKee in
the Forum
“Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.”
Oh, The Places You Will Go – Dr Seuss

6. Ideas….
Responsive Education System
1. Implement Service Learning Projects
2. Increase school-community partnerships to
enable job shadowing, work experience, co-op
programs, internships
3. Increase practical experiential learning
opportunities both in career opportunities and
basic life skills
4. Incorporate student led exploration courses –
Forward Friday’s
5. Support for students who are not going onto
Post-Secondary studies – not feel pressure or
sense of failure
6. Teachers interview graduating students and
create their own empathy map to better
understand what the students are going through
and hopefully their stories will create more
engaged teachers.
7. Design challenges for students built into their
curriculum in order to develop critical thinking
skills
8. Courses geared towards life skills/career
opportunities taught by non-teachers – those
who are in the ‘trenches’ doing the stuff.
Village to Raise a Child –
Community/Career Connections
9. Junior Achievement course
10. Community Web – connections to
employment and life skills programs, services
and advice
11. Provide opportunities for young people to
develop the 40 Developmental Assets (Search
Institute)
12. Create job experience opportunities within
every business, industry and NGO –
community commitment to provide
opportunities to young people.
13. Work simulation lab – Work World
14. Career Buffet - experience 25 jobs in 25 weeks.
Service clubs to sponsor students in transition
so they are paid for the experience.
15. Reverse Job Postings – those looking for
work/in transition post and employers create
opportunities for them.
16. Create a community social enterprise that
enables youth to work in a variety of roles and
develop administration/leadership skills

7. And more ideas….
Reframe Definition of Success
and Work
17. Accept transition as an essential phase of life
and use as a learning journey
18. Societal expectation of success being defined
as career – redefine what success means.
Challenge accepted wisdom, practices and
ways of looking at things – go beyond the
status quo. Create success statements for
yourself.
19. Reverse failure and success. Biggest lessons
come from failing – take risks and fail faster
20. Understand the difference between having a
job and being able to earn income. How can
you earn income and do what you love?
21. Conduct interviews with famous people who
are in different careers
22. Determine how you balance other’s
expectations and your own definition and
experiences of success
23. Keep a Journal
24. Talk to Artists, Musicians and others who
create their income
Discover Career Interests
25. Play with others – dress up or other
pretend games that you did when you
were a child. A career “tickle trunk”
(dress up/props trunk) try it on and see
where it takes you.
26. Complete the Strengths Finder program.
Develop an asset map for yourself.
27. Career scavenger hunt
28. Create a career bucket list.
29. Make a list of what you don’t like to do –
eliminate them.
30. Aptitude testing/career counselling
31. Work on a cruise ship – a lot of different
careers on board
32. TED talks – careers
33. Play the Flow Games
(http://www.interchange.dk/practices/fl
owgame/)

8. Self-Discovery: Create
understanding of self/gain confidence
34. Question yourself – what is important to
you; what do you believe in, etc. Create
a vision board.
35. Examine why you feel the need to move?
Impact on your relationships with family,
etc. and the impact on you. Will moving
change it?
36. Go into silence – escape
37. Jettison peer pressure.
38. Follow influential/inspiring people on
Twitter
39. Examine what causes you to be fearful.
Reframe fear – you have the courage.
Confront and claim if for yourself.
40. Determine what makes you happy and
follow it. Silence your internal critic.
41. Make a list of things to DO that are
outside your comfort zone and do them.
Create a tolerance for discomfort.
Take Time – Experience Life
42. Travel – couchsurfers.org
43. Take part in Canada World Youth or Free
the Children programs
44. Start something – a volunteer
organization, a business
45. Gap year – year of service – volunteer
46. Struggle, embrace vulnerability – failing
is OK.
47. Watch movies and read (especially Dr.
Seuss – The Places You Will Go)
48. Visit art galleries, museums. Make art.
49. Immerse yourself in a culture different
than yours
50. Create self-fulfilling prophecies – watch
The Secret

9. Create Connections – Develop
Relationships
51. Party – a new city need to meet new
people
52. Use public transit – talk to people
53. Take on room mates
54. Join groups such as Toastmasters, civic
action groups, local theatre, hiking club,
etc.
55. Hang out at community spaces such as
community centres (YMCA), coffee shops
56. Widen circle of friends – connect with
friends of friends, friends of
acquaintances
57. Don’t rely on the Internet to answer your
questions, get out and ask.
58. Volunteer – check out the Volunteer
Bureau
Learn Basic Life Skills
59. Tour Guides to the Future – Information
sources to ask questions
60. Life skills Boot Camp – offered during
School Breaks
61. Local Survivor program – based on urban
skills to survive.
62. Use Pinterest
63. Take classes at the Community Recreation
Centre or college – cooking, gardening,
home repairs, etc.
64. Homestead or get off the ‘grid’
65. Visit seniors at a Senior Centre and ask
them questions about how to do things
66. Experiment, learn, find out what works.

10. The Most Practical
easiest to implement…
Discover Career Interests - #26
• Complete Strength’s
Finder and develop an
asset map
• The Strength's Finder Assessment is
easy to take and will enable the
stakeholder to focus on what she is
good at.
• Developing an asset map will assist her
in preparing her resume and to think
about what work and experiences she is
seeking.
• This is inexpensive, not time consuming,
within the control of the stakeholder
and is an appreciative approach.
• It will enable her to start to think about
who she needs to talk to find out more
information about careers related to her
strengths.
Discover what makes you stand out.

11. The Most Disruptive - #15
(would be helpful for current stakeholder)
• Reverse hiring – Rather than stakeholders applying for jobs, they create the
‘jobs/experiences’ they are seeking and employers look to incorporate them into their
organization.
• Employers/organizations reframe their perception of people in the school-to-work transition
and view them as a valuable resource or asset and would find a way to fit them into their
workplace.
• ‘K’ is looking for a unique work situation including preference for short term work
engagements or openness to moving to different locations.
• The person in transition posts information about their skills, interests and the kind of work
and experience they are open to trying and organizations look through these profiles to see
who they can utilize.
• An idealized version of head-hunting, where employers would see the value in providing
work opportunities to people in this life phase in order to reap the benefits of someone who
is open, enthusiastic and eager to learn. They also are contributing to the creation of a
better informed, more engaged workforce where the stakeholders may fill openings they
have at a later time.
• Chosen as Most Disruptive as I am viewing this as a very broad initiative so that it becomes
the ‘norm’ and there are many stakeholders provided the opportunity to gain experience and
try out different kinds of work and many, many employers incorporating transitional work
into their organizations.

12. Most Disruptive - #13
(Of benefit for future stakeholders)
• World of Work – Career Simulation Lab
• Similar to Science World (in British Columbia), World of Work would be a
provincial facility that would enable people of all ages to experience a
variety of careers and the world of work – starting at kindergarten and
moving beyond high school
• Almost every child in the province has visited Science World, whether as a
class trip or parents taking them there. Science World provides resources
for educators and develops activities, camps, and courses for people of all
ages. They provide outreach, travelling exhibits that they take to every
community in the province.
• Using innovative hands on activities the World of Work would provide age
appropriate activities to engage people in discovering their interests and
potential careers.
• Check out Science World – http://www.scienceworld.ca/
• Provides opportunities for children to experience and think of career
choices throughout their lives – not just when the reach the transition
stage.

13. My Favourite Idea - #59
• During the creation of the Empathy Map I was most moved by the stakeholder’s
concern about her lack of life skills and basic knowledge about how to do everyday
things. This is the area that she was most distraught about.
• When I am going to visit somewhere new (A stranger in a strange land) I turn to
Travel Guides. And while I read them in anticipation of the journey, they are most
useful while I am on the trip and I am able to focus on my immediate need.
• The other image that came to mind was the volunteer community hosts program
that many communities have to assist tourists with directions and their questions.
• “Travel Guides to the Future” would be a community based program of volunteers
who have knowledge in different life skill areas and would be willing to answer
questions, provide directions, etc. for a young person as they navigate the
transitions in their lives. Topic areas could include: banking, finding
accommodation, fixing your car, finding a job, etc.
• The “Travel Guides” would provide general workshops both in schools and in the
community prior to youth starting their transition. But there would also be a way
of contacting them throughout the transition period providing a circle of support
and being available when they are most needed.

14. Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
By Dr. Seuss
“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”
“So be sure when you step,
Step with care and great tact.
And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act.
And will you succeed? Yes!
You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
Kid, you'll move mountains.”
On to the next assignment…