IT Career Development Course

This course was developed in response to faculty requests for help with increasing learner engagement, exploring new ideas and professional development opportunities.  This course was also an opportunity to get exposure to the Canvas LMS (the university currently uses Blackboard Learn) and to explore a course designed to enable maximum flexibility in modality and choice.  Furthermore, this course demonstrates a variety of instructional techniques and content types throughout.  Finally, this program was an opportunity to issue competency-based micro-credentials.

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A short video tutorial demonstrating how ADAGE grant participants can add microcredentials to their LinkedIn profiles.

Demo of badge –

Course Description

This 5-week online course provides professional development support for qualifying for your first job.  Originally developed for a tech job, the tools and techniques provided are broadly applicable for anyone looking to establish or changing their career.  The course can be taken as a live online cohort or a self-paced learning experience.  It is recommended to complete one module per week in sequential order.

Modules

0. Getting Started   – An overview of how to get a job in the field of your choice
1. Self Discovery   – Tap into your unique traits to help you to know what works best for you.
2. Qualifications Exploration   – Identify your dream job and what it takes to get it.
3. Professional Development Plan  – Create your path to mastery of in-demand skills.
4. Professional Profile  –  Build a professional profile to display your skills.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, learners will be able to do the following:

  1. Implement a five-step career decision making process for career development from discovery to establishing a professional online presence.
  2. Conduct self discovery to assess their strengths, interests, and values.
  3. Explore career options to determine fit and interests.
  4. Analyze their strengths and gaps to determine how to be competitive for entry into their targeted field.
  5. Critically review qualifications and requirements to prioritize their training and development needs.
  6. Develop their professional development plan.
  7. Craft a professional profile to facilitate making connections and applications.

Course Feedback

Participants stated that they really learned a lot from the experience and felt that had a clearer understanding of themselves and what they needed to do.