Career socialisation good practices at the VET in Kecskemét

Target group

Students aged 14 to 19 (in technical and vocational secondary education)

Duration

From Year 9-13

Inspiration for the tool

The tool was inspired by the growing need to integrate career guidance and self-awareness development into everyday school life. It is based on the idea that career education should start early and be supported by practical experiences, reflection, and guidance from trained educators.

Objectives

To provide comprehensive knowledge and support for students throughout secondary education.
To prepare learners for the labour market by developing both technical and transversal (soft) skills.
To strengthen students’ self-awareness, decision-making, and career planning competences.
To promote cooperation between schools, companies, and local stakeholders in the region.

Resources needed

A collection of good practices developed by teachers and mentors of the Vocational Education Centre in Kecskemét. Teaching materials, worksheets, and digital tools supporting self-assessment and job orientation.

Activities

The activities are tailored lesson plans designed for homeroom teachers and vocational instructors (see example worksheets below).

Reflections/Consolidation of learning

Teachers use reflective questions and activities to help students evaluate what they have learned and how it applies to their future depending on the activity:

What did you learn from this activity about yourself and your abilities?
What type of work environment would you like to work in?
How can the experience you gained influence your future career decisions?
Which competences do you still need to improve before entering the labour market?

Also, school leavers are required to fill in an end-of-the year questionnaire regarding their future plans and activities carried out. Also, school leavers can use some of the activities (e.g.: CV and cover letter writing) in their portfolios.

Contact person

klaudia.tolli(a)kecskemetiszc.hu

Worksheet example

Topic: Career planning / self-analysis, internal resources and external factors

Title of the good practice: In the Crosshairs

Goal:
Students should be able to create their personal SWOT analysis, meaning they should be aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses, and recognize the external factors that help or hinder them in achieving their goals.

Group organization methods (individual, pair work, group work):
Whole-class frontal work Group work (4 groups) Individual work

Tools:
SWOT slips for forming groups (Annex 2), Printed story – 1 copy per group (Annex 1), Colored sticky notes, Thick markers, Board, SWOT matrix – 1 per student (Annex 4)

Short description of the activity / task:
Someone reads the story aloud (optional). Everyone draws a slip (Appendix 2). Students form 4 groups based on the letters they drew. Each group collects the elements from the story (Appendix 1) that relate to their category and writes them one by one on sticky notes. The teacher divides the board into four sections: Strengths Weaknesses Supporting factors Hindering factors The groups place their sticky notes in the appropriate quadrant. Short discussion: Is everything in the right place? Did anything remain missing?
(Use Appendix 3 for checking.) Students complete their personal SWOT analysis (Appendix 4).

Product:
Personal SWOT analysis (Annex 4)

Annex 1 – Story

Once upon a time there was a very poor family. In that family lived a tiny, skinny little boy. The boy’s father worked as a handyman at a football club, and he often took his son with him.

While the father worked, the little boy kicked a ball against the side of the locker room, dreaming that one day he would become a famous football player. Sometimes the older players at the club kicked the ball to him, and very early on they noticed that the boy was quite talented.

He was barely three years old when he received a football for his birthday. From then on there was no stopping him—he played with it constantly. At the age of eight, he joined the children’s team. There it became clear that he handled defeat very poorly; if they were losing, he would start crying. Because of this, the others teased and excluded him, although fortunately he also found a friend.

Day by day he handled the ball better, but because of the family’s financial situation it seemed impossible that he would ever attend a football academy.

One day a sports academy visited the club with the intention of giving an opportunity to the player who scored the most goals. The boy played very well, but his friend played even better that day. However, at the last moment the friend selflessly passed the ball to the boy, who scored the decisive goal and thus received the opportunity to join the academy.

To do so, he had to move far away from his family, which affected him deeply. He had great difficulty adapting to the new environment. He was often bullied and mocked, and he frequently responded with anger and aggression. Once he even clashed with a teacher. This behavior endangered his place at the academy.

His coach saw the talent in him and tried to shape and support him, allowing him to remain despite his outstandingly problematic behavior.

It took him a year to get used to the environment. Then he decided that he would become the best player in the world. At every meal he ate twice as much as the others because they told him he was too thin and needed to become stronger. After every training session he stayed behind to practice free kicks. He tied weights to his ankles to strengthen his legs. At one in the morning he was found in the gym. In his room he did sit-ups and push-ups so he could become the best.

Meanwhile, being far from his family weakened him mentally. His father was an alcoholic, and his brother became addicted to drugs, which affected his performance.

At the age of 15, he was diagnosed with heart problems. After a successful surgery, however, he was able to play again. He still wanted to become the best player in the world, so he gave up his other studies in favor of football. His mother supported him in this decision.

His coach also had to deal with the boy’s selfishness and had to make him understand that football is a team sport. Eventually he found the right path. Later he amazed audiences with his fantastic tricks, dribbles, and changes of rhythm, but he no longer wanted to solve everything alone.

The world opened up before him. The greatest football teams in the world lined up to sign him.

The boy’s dream came true. He became the best player in the world, and even the first billionaire football player.

(Any resemblance to reality is NOT coincidental.)

Sources listed in the original document.

Annex 2 – Group-forming slips

S	Strengths – What are you good at, or better at than others? What do your peers like about you?
W	Weaknesses – What are you weaker at than others? Which of your traits hinder you from reaching your goals?
O	Opportunities – What factors can help you achieve your goal? Who are the people you can rely on?
T	Threats – What circumstances hold you back? Who or what makes it harder to reach your goal? What could cause problems?

Annex 3: SWOT matrix of the story

	Positive	Negative
Internal	Strengths perseverance determination goal-orientation skill good ball control	Weaknesses hypersensitivity aggressiveness selfishness
External	Opportunities father’s workplace support from family / mother friend’s selflessness (helping him get into the academy) help from coaches	Threats poverty rejection from peers heart disease father’s illness and death, poor mental state

Annex 4: Personal analysis sheet

	Positive	Negative
Internal	Strengths	Weaknesses
External	Opportunities	Threats

GOAL:

NAME:

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