Page 45 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: The Arts, 2010

THE ONTARIO SKILLS PASSPORT AND ESSENTIAL SKILLS
Teachers planning programs in the arts need to be aware of the purpose and benefits
of the Ontario Skills Passport (OSP). The OSP is a bilingual web-based resource that enhances the relevance of classroom learning for students and strengthens school–work connections. The OSP provides clear descriptions of Essential Skills such as Reading Text, Writing, Computer Use, Measurement and Calculation, and Problem Solving and includes an extensive database of occupation-specific workplace tasks that illustrate how workers use these skills on the job. The Essential Skills are transferable, in that they are used in virtually all occupations. The OSP also includes descriptions of important work habits, such as working safely, being reliable, and providing excellent customer service. The OSP is designed to help employers assess and record students’ demonstration of these skills and work habits during their cooperative education placements. Students can use the OSP to assess, practise, and build their Essential Skills and work habits and transfer them to a job or further education or training.
The skills described in the OSP are the Essential Skills that the Government of Canada and other national and international agencies have identified and validated, through extensive research, as the skills needed for work, learning, and life. These Essential Skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change. For further information on the OSP and the Essential Skills, visit http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca.
CAREER EDUCATION
Expectations in the arts program include many opportunities for students to apply their skills to work-related situations, to explore educational and career options, and to become self-directed learners. Arts education can provide students with knowledge and a range of communication skills that are valued in various kinds of employment both
in the arts themselves and in marketing and public relations, tourism and hospitality, teaching, and law. Teachers can help students to identify ways in which their involvement in the arts enhances their suitability for a wide range of occupations.
Cultural industries are among the largest sectors of the economy, and educational and career opportunities related to the arts are consequently many and varied. In fact, the workforce in the culture sector has increased over a recent twenty-year period at a much faster rate than the total workforce in Canada.6 Students can be encouraged to explore careers as artists, technicians, or arts administrators. To prepare students for the varied demands of a wide array of postsecondary educational programs and careers, arts courses require students to develop skills and strategies in research, planning, and presentation. Making oral presentations and working in small groups with classmates help students express themselves confidently and work cooperatively with others.
COOPERATIVE EDUCATION AND OTHER FORMS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Cooperative education and other forms of experiential learning, such as job shadowing, field trips, and work experience, enable students to apply the skills they have developed in the classroom to real-life activities in the community and in the world of business and public service.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING IN THE ARTS
6. Paul Sereda, Culture Employment in a North American Context: 1981 to 2001 (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2007), p. 18.
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