Where Are the Jobs in 2011?

As the economy begins to grow again, the types of jobs that emerge will be very different than those that disappeared during the last decade and during the current recession. Knowing which employment opportunities will present themselves in the future helps students and adults make more knowledgeable career decisions.

Employment opportunities depend on the skills that will be needed within specific career clusters, which will in turn be guided by demand for goods and services within those clusters. Employers will look not only for people who are highly skilled and well educated, but also for those who can learn and embrace other professional skills and work in a more "collaboration-based workplace."

With the continuing trend of outsourcing, jobs such as programming, tech support, customer service, content development, etc. are predominantly moving to English-speaking, low labor-cost countries such as India and China.

Thus, when people plan careers today, they must acquire skills that are in demand for an emerging set of career clusters. Factors that reduce the threat of outsourcing are careers such as nursing, carpentry, physicians, and hair stylists that require your physical presence on location. Jobs that will stay onshore are ones that are complex, have time constraints, and involve a lot of interaction.

The projections of future employment trends given by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a definite increase of jobs within the service-providing industries. Out of every 10 jobs created, more than three will be in the health care, social assistance, and education sectors. This will include nursing and residential care facilities, both in private and public hospitals. Health care will account for one of the highest employment areas, due to the aging population and increased life expectancy.

Also in demand will be jobs in childcare services, scientific fields, and information technology. The information sector is estimated to grow by 6.9% by 2016. This will include tremendous potential for careers in software, broadcasting, wireless telecommunication, Internet publishing, newspapers, and more. Careers in the recreational sector will be in demand as people have more leisure time, income, and awareness.

Careers in finance and insurance will also be in great demand. Transportation and warehousing will see growth in employment, as manufacturers try to concentrate on their core activity and outsource transportation and storage functions.

Students need to learn more about the careers of the future and be able to compare their talents and interests against the opportunities that an economic recovery will present to them during this decade.

ProQuest editors have created a BookCart learning activity that provides a collection of the best resources for students to use in performing career research and analysis. Teachers and librarians can copy this BookCart learning activity—"Career Exploration Resources"—and edit it quickly to add additional resources, student directions, printed resources, and essential questions for critical thinking for students.

All of these edits can be typed into the DESCRIPTION box of BookCart Editor to help your students to use the BookCart resources more effectively.

• Log on to the eLibrary TEACHER EDITION.
• Click the BOOKCART ADMIN link at the top right of the Teacher Edition.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
• Type "Career Exploration Resources" in the Search box.
• Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

This BookCart already includes ALL the information that a student needs to complete the assignment. Teachers can also edit any of this information to customize it to meet the needs of the students for differentiated instruction.

• Click the new BookCart Title; it will have the prefix "COPY OF."
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your first and last name in the AUTHOR boxes.
• Type your email address in the EMAIL box, or your initials as the required filler.
• Option: edit the samples of ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS in the DESCRIPTION box.
• Option: edit the STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the Description box.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click MY LOCAL CARTS tab to see your edited Cart, ready for your students to use.

You may also want to download our current complete listing of hundreds of ProQuest Carts. The list is organized by curriculum area and the titles are in alphabetical order.

Each Cart title is hyperlinked to the ProQuest collection, so when clicking the hyperlink (while in the Teacher Edition), you will see a shortcut to copy it to your local collection.

Assign students to write a report of at least 150 words (or a PowerPoint presentation of at least seven slides) that cites at least three resources. Students should focus on a specific career cluster that appeals to them.

They should use the Pathfinders listed below to access the best information quickly. Students should address at least three of the following essential questions for critical thinking in their reports (you can substitute others):

• Why is this career cluster of interest to you?
  
  
• What are the prospects for growth of this career cluster and why?
  
  
• What skills and interests do you have that make this career cluster a good fit for you?
  
  
• What type of education and training are needed to succeed in this career cluster?

1: Click the Topics Search tab > Type "Careers" in Search > Click "Career Planning and Strategies"

2: Select Advanced Search > Enter "Career Planning" in Search > Type "Careers" next to Document Title > Sort results by Date

Your students can use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.

Teachers may be interested in a ProQuest flexible rubrics model for evaluating inquiry-based learning activities.

Educators may also wish to employ the Quizinator Web tool (free, but registration required) for creating a variety of printed resources, including short assessments.