Career Education and the Role of Work

The establishment of the National 4-H Workforce Preparation program to address present and future employment competencies required by business prompted the Allen County, Ohio, 4-H program to offer a career education program in cooperation with local schools and businesses to provide middle school-aged youth opportunities to explore the world of work. However, as the program evolved, we began to examine our goals and philosophies and realized that a small developing career club must question some basic assumptions about the world of work. Teens must understand, and 4-H must provide, a greater understanding of work.