What is the Careers-Related Programme?

Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai is committed to providing an environment of holistic development for our students. Our responsibilities extend well beyond the classroom, to life after school. Indeed, the scope of our academic and pastoral programme is to prepare our students for University studies and future careers. This is evident in the various career-related services and opportunities that we provide for our pupils. Whether it is giving them access to qualified career counselors who can help them choose their field of study and prepare their university applications, or giving them workplace experience through our Work Placement Programme, our objective is to develop our students into well-rounded, responsible individuals equipped with the skills to succeed in the future workplace. To best provide for our students’ careers, we have become a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme. In this article, we explore this programme and what it means for our students’ futures.

What is the Career-Related Programme?

The IB Middle Years Programme is intended for students between the ages of 11 and 16, and for most IB schools, it prepares students for the academic rigor and open-endedness of the Diploma Programme. However, IB World Schools that implement the Career-related Programme (CP) provide students with an alternative framework for studies that combines parts of the IB Diploma Programme with learning that is far more targeted towards career and vocational knowledge. The CP includes a variant of the IB learner profile, creating students who are:

• Academically strong
• Skilled in a practical field
• Critical and ethical thinkers
• Self-directed
• Collaborative
• Resilient and determined
• Confident and assured
• Caring and reflective
• Inquirers

The CP core

The Career-related Programme is highlighted by the CP core, a curriculum that focus on far more hands-on experiential learning. It aims to develop personal and professional skills that will be of great use in the workplace, especially the “soft skills” that are essential to students who will be joining the workforce of the future. It also includes a research-driven approach towards service initiatives that are intended to help address needs in the community, as well as a reflective project that discusses ethical issues that students encounter in their studies about the workplace. These ensure that students will enter the workforce with a developed ethical code and sense of service that will provide for the betterment of society. Finally, the CP core also includes a language development component. It’s no secret that multilingualism translates directly to career and financial benefits, and will help promote a wider, more diverse worldview in students. The CP core ensures that CP students will be exposed to another language besides their mother tongues, helping promote these benefits. CP students are assessed by two separate bodies. The DP courses are assessed by external IB testers, while the four components of the CP – the reflective project, service learning, personal and professional skills, and language development – are taken care of the school, who is responsible for ensuring the completion of their CP requirements, and assessing them.

Diverse options for the future

With our Work Placement initiative, which has it roots in the Swiss education system’s Berufslehre apprenticeship system, as well as our candidacy for the IB CP, SISD reaffirms its commitment to supporting all our students to become successful, global minded, enthusiastic lifelong learners who will confidently take advantage of future opportunities and help make a difference. By giving them the option between the university preparatory-centric DP with bilingual options, and the Career-related Programme, SISD students will be equipped with the 21st century skills needed to thrive in the future.