Practice your skills!

There are several ways to put your skills to work...

Volunteering has its advantages! Not only are you providing a service in your community, you can practice skills, ‘test drive’ a career interest, and list your experience on an application or resume to show potential employers and colleges that you can handle responsibility. To find out which local businesses offer volunteer opportunities, click here to Get Connected!

Take a Career and Technical Education (CTE) class or program of study. Brevard Public Schools’ Career & Technical Programs will get you going in the right direction. Name an occupation. Whatever field you choose chances are there’s a class – or even an entire course of study – that will give you relevant experience with the latest technology. You will gain knowledge, experience and confidence as you explore careers from the inside out. To learn more about CTE classes and programs, visit www.brevardcte.com

Take technical courses at the college level. Qualified high school students may take technical courses at the college level and earn dual credit. Dual enrollment allows students to take courses such as electronic engineering technology, crime scene technology, drafting, graphic design, web design, computer information technology, and office systems technology. These technical courses will offer students an opportunity to learn a new skill and identify future career paths. Check with your high school counselor to see if you qualify to take dual enrolled courses. To learn more about Brevard Community College technical programs go to www.brevardcc.edu

Talk to a teacher or guidance counselor to find out if your school offers a co-op program. This is a program that gives you the opportunity to attend school a portion of the day and work in a job for another part of the day. You can also search our Get Connected! database to find out which employers partner with your school to offer a co-op program.

An internship or externship can offer you the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge you have learned in school to the ‘real world’. These experiences are generally short-term and require a certain number of completion hours to meet requirements for graduating from a program of study and/or attaining an industry recognized certificate or license. Thus, internships are coordinated through high schools and/or colleges that students attend during their senior year. Internship schedules are usually somewhat flexible based on a student’s academic schedule and can be either paid (internship) or unpaid (externship). It is important to note, that many of these opportunities are not paid, mainly because the experience gained while in an internship or externship is meant to be the pay off from the opportunity.

Think of an internship or externship as a trial job. An intern or extern works in a professional setting with professionals and reports to the employer or employer’s designated staff. An intern is treated like an employee and expected to follow a job description, as well as meet performance and attendance requirements. To find out which local employers offer internship or externship opportunities, click here to Get Connected!