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Career Readiness

Our innovative and free programs are designed to provide an understanding of possible career fields, opportunities, and transferrable skills that support career progression for the present and future workforce.

Fed Futures

The Fed Future Professionals Program (Fed Futures) is an exciting opportunity for high school students to explore careers in the financial industry. Developed in collaboration with several Federal Reserve Banks, including those in Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Richmond, and San Francisco, this program is designed to give students a head start in understanding the world of finance and economics.

Fed Futures offers a unique combination of hands-on training, skill-building activities, and professional mentoring. Throughout the year-round paid preparatory program, students will engage in live virtual sessions, gain real-world experience through job shadowing, and receive guidance from experienced professionals in the field. The program is perfect for anyone interested in exploring a career in economics or finance, whether you’re looking to learn about the banking system, financial markets, or the economy itself.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • Several live virtual professional development sessions to build your skills
  • Eight weeks of summer job shadowing to gain real-world experience
  • Biweekly mentoring from experienced Federal Reserve professionals

The program is open to high school students from Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Applications open every February, and the program kicks off in October.

If you’re ready to take your first step toward a future in finance, don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity! For more information, email Davonta Milbry at davonta.milbry@cle.frb.org

Career readiness resources

Career Clusters

In this lesson, students will be able to complete a Venn diagram to learn about various occupations and identify skills and interests that align with their career preference. In addition, students will complete a worksheet that includes follow-up questions to assess their career path based on the Venn diagram.

Learning objectives Grade level Time allotment Downloads
  • Identify the 16 Career Clusters and their various pathways
  • Evaluate the education, training, skills and interests for various occupations
  • Analyze the similarities and differences between personal skills and interests and those of a chosen occupation
6th–8th 45 minutes

Jobs in My Town

In this activity, students will match occupations with their responsibilities to learn about jobs within their community.

Learning objectives Grade level Time allotment Downloads
  • Students will recognize occupations and their responsibilities
  • Students will build community awareness
K–2nd 35–45 minutes

Occupational Mobility Explorer

This activity allows students to explore opportunity occupations throughout their local community or region by using the Occupational Mobility Explorer (OME) tool to build awareness of career paths that align to their professional aspirations. The OME allows users to visualize how job skills needed for specific occupations can transfer to higher-paying occupations in the same geographical area.

Learning objectives Grade level Time allotment Downloads
  • Explore regional occupations of interest
  • Develop and visualize potential career paths using the OME
  • Identify the top shared and requested skills needed to transfer between roles in a career path
High school, college 45–60 minutes