The wheel of professions
The wheel of professions is a game aimed at improving young people’s knowledge of the labour market and of the numerous professions that exist in different working sectors. It is a group and learning-by-doing activity to increase awareness on professional possibilities and personal aspirations.
“The wheel of professions” is a new way to make young people familiarise themselves with the labour market and the professional world. It is a Reality Check to have fun and to acquire new skills at the same time. The activity is implemented using a digital or paper-made spinning wheel that displays a range of professional fields/profiles with which the youngsters should become familiar. The participants not only play with the wheel and read about different professions, but they are also assigned one of them and asked to search for information about it. Finally, they are also expected to present their findings to others.
Through a learning-by-doing activity, youngsters discover professional fields, or deepen their knowledge about them, in a playful, engaging way. Simultaneously, they gain new competences related to job information search and to presenting findings in front of an audience.
This Reality Check represents an innovative and versatile approach to introduce young people to the world of professions. Indeed, the wheel of professions can be used both in formal and informal contexts, and it can include more or less professional fields/profiles according to the target groups involved in its use.
Learning outcomes
Additional learning outcomes
- Acquiring job information search skills
Implementation
Step-by-step
There are some precise steps to follow to develop this Reality Check:
- Identify the professional fields/profiles that you want to focus on with your target group;
- Collect descriptive information on each of these fields/profiles to be used by the participants;
- Create a spinning wheel using a digital online tool (i.e. Picker Wheel, Spin the Wheel), or a paper-made one. The wheel is intended as a circle divided in segments (like a pie chart), with a spinning arrow fixed in its centre pointing at the segments.
- Assign a professional field/profile to each segment of the wheel by writing on it, and then “attach” a detailed description to it. Each description should be provided to the participants when the spinning arrow stops on the corresponding segment. The game is now ready to be played.
- Identify a group of young people to involve in the activity (between 5 and 15 participants, the ideal size also depends on the number of professions composing the wheel);
- Identify at least one person that can be the leader/moderator during the activity;
- Select a space (a room, a classroom) in which it is possible to sit down and play. If the spinning wheel is made of paper, a big table and some chairs around are necessary. If the spinning wheel is digital, a big-enough touch screen and some chairs in front of it are needed.
- Prepare an evaluation phase to be held afterwards (e.g. a short survey).
- Set a date and invite the participants to the initiative;
- On that day, make a short introduction about the topics of the game and the objectives. Place the wheel at the centre of the screen/table and ask participants to spin in in turns. When the wheel stops on a profession, the description appears/is given to the participant, who has to read it aloud to the group.
- After this phase, all participants have a professional field/profile assigned to them. Each participant is asked to search for more information on that profession using a smartphone/tablet/pc, following some guiding questions provided (i.e. What are the skills involved in this profession? How to start a career in this field? What is the average wage in this profession?), and to collect them. This phase should last approximately 30 minutes.
- At the end of the research, all participants in turns present their findings to the group. Participants are encouraged to listen carefully, take notes, and learn from each other.
- Lastly, sum up the results of the activity and ask participants to evaluate the Reality Check.
Involved professions
This Reality Check can be implemented by different kinds of actors. The wheel can be created by school professionals, NGOs professionals, or public employment services professionals. Indeed, this informal activity can be developed in different settings, such as a classroom, or a private room of an organisation, association, or employment agency. In every case, it is necessary to find someone able to create the spinning wheel (digital or paper format). Furthermore, someone leading the activity with youths is also needed.
Regarding the participants, a group of 5 to 15 young people should be involved in the activity for a successful implementation.
Preparation & follow-up
In the preparation phase, it is necessary to find competent people to create the spinning wheel and to select and describe the professional fields/profiles to be included in it. If needed, some companies could also be involved in the process of describing the fields/professions.
A follow-up action for this activity could be a short “check quiz” to verify if the participants remember the contents of the Reality Check and have learnt from it.
Evaluation
There are two possible ways to evaluate this Reality Check:
- The participants receive a questionnaire of evaluation after the final phase, investigating the quality of the idea, structure, duration, contents, implementation of the Reality Check and possible adjustments or new suggestions.
- The moderator conducts an informal evaluation, asking some of the participants their opinions about the initiative and possible adjustments. The moderator should write down the comments received and then collect them all in a single document.