Review 1

The New Youth Entrepreneur course is an up-to-date, thorough, and relevant entrepreneurship course for youth in the United States. The 13 modules contain a lot of useful and interesting activities and lead young people through exploration and consideration of all facets of starting and running a business. The course could be adapted for other countries, especially for developing countries, but a lot of work would need to be done to make the examples and materials appropriate and relevant.The Participant Workbooks are easy to follow and understand for the most part. There are a lot of photographs, illustrations and quotations used throughout the manuals, and plenty of space is provided for writing answers to questions or notes for activities. The materials assume good reading skills on the part of participants, and some pages are text heavy. Some of the instructions for participants may be confusing, or lacking in sufficient detail. As an example, Module 3 contains about 50 pages of ideas for businesses, with information on equipment, transportation, first steps, marketing, advantages, and risks for each one. The only guidance given to the participant is to try out one business idea, individually or with a group, or to “use them as triggers to spark your own ideas.” There are no instructions for the Instructor regarding these pages, nor are they mentioned in the Instructor's Manual.  

The Instructor's Manual is designed in a way that is not familiar to this reviewer. There is very little overall guidance for the instructor, and each module focuses on the answers to questions posed in the participants' workbook, with minimal suggestions on facilitating discussions or setting up activities. There is no big picture overview of the course content and the activities contained in each module, nor are there any references to or guidance about the time it might take to work through a module or to implement the full course of 13 modules. The Instructor’s Manual does not discuss the teaching and learning methodologies that underlie the course, nor does it discuss the role of the Instructor. Because the course is workbook-based, it might be easy for an inexperienced instructor to have students focus on completing the individual activity pages in the workbook, and by-passing the group work or activities that might take place outside the classroom. There is little guidance for instructors on using discussions to reflect on ways to link the workbook topics and activities with personal experience, summarize contributions of students and small groups, and link the completed module with what is coming next. The degree to which the participants take ownership of their own learning; collaborate with others to learn rather than compete with each other; and apply or try out new skills in their daily lives (among other best practices) seems highly dependent on the skills, experience and preference of the instructor. However, there may be a training of instructors’ component to this program that addresses this reviewer’s concerns.

Review 1

The WIN Career Readiness online course is an appropriate choice for programs that have adequate internet access and multiple computer work stations and are working with youth who plan to work in private sector enterprises structured along U.S. or developed country workplace models. One of its strengths is the leveled approach to developing content knowledge and strengthening skills. While there is not an online summary available to either the instructor/manager or the learner, there may be "background" material available off-line to the instructor or manager that details the specific competencies covered in each module, as the course materials are designed to meet specific U.S. standards-based and competency-based assessment systems.

Course materials are up to date, and the content is thorough and consistent with best practices for the content of employability/work readiness courses, with its inclusion of observation and locating information skills, as well as the option of applied technology for learners who might be going into further study in this area. However, some materials may not be familiar to youth in developing countries, and the reading level may be a barrier to some youth.  

Course content is prescribed and pre-set, and instruction is delivered to the learner, in much the same way a teacher would deliver a lecture, with some activities included. The only choice open to the learner is which module to work on. Learners have the opportunity to demonstrate what they already know, as they answer questions for each level. However, they can only respond to the questions asked; they do not have the opportunity to draw on other experiences or skills and knowledge that they may have. Clearly learners will gain a lot of knowledge, and perhaps self-confidence, from completing each module. How they apply their new skills and knowledge is a big question, as there are few opportunities to try them out in real life. Most course materials are available in downloadable PDF, and it is possible to imagine a course instructor adapting these printed materials to specific country contexts and, along with additional activities, creating a more participatory course for a group of learners working together.

The reading level is quite high across all modules. Level 1 of Reading for Information is not at a beginning literacy level, for example. Assuming that this version of the course has been developed with U.S. high school level students in mind, then the levels may be appropriate. The format is easy to use and inviting, though more illustrations could be used and the type font could be larger. Learners can follow their own progress, and there is an audio feature that could be helpful to students trying to improve English pronunciation skills, or for those who have limited vision.

In addition, there are contextualized modules for a range of industry and business sectors (hospitality, healthcare, architecture,agriculture, automotive, etc.). The materials in this course are sequenced along a developmental continuum of increasing complexity, with clearly identified levels, each of which builds on the previous. Each level contains instructional/background material, a variety of problem-solving or identification exercises in multiple-choice format, and an assessment. The course is self-paced and completing all modules is optional. The length of time the course takes is dependent on the number of modules used and the skill level of the learner.

Review 1

The Passport to Success curriculum is carefully designed to be easily adapted for youth and young adults who need to learn about and prepare for the world of work in a range of learning settings, and in a variety and range of countries. Its two components, work readiness and service-learning, can be used together or separately depending on what is needed. While prescriptive, with specific activities and times for exercises and handouts—a strength where teachers have not had much training and/or experience—it can also easily be adapted by more experienced teachers. Ideally this curriculum would be accompanied by work internships, an apprenticeship or job skills training program, and an introduction to the requirements of specific entry level and more advanced jobs within a particular industry.

On its own, the curriculum offers help with "soft" skills such as active listening, goal setting, problem solving and decision making, assertiveness, study skills, managing conflicts, managing money, and others, but many youth seeking jobs also need other work-related trade, craft or agricultural knowledge and skills. Another area that could be added to this curriculum is a formative and summative learning assessment model. It would be difficult, for example, for a teacher—or learners—to know if a learner has attained the necessary work readiness skills, knowledge and attitudes. The lessons do not include a formal assessment or evaluation of a learning section, and some of the learning objectives are not described in measurable terms; however, in the application section, students are asked to reflect on what they have learned and how they can apply it.

Review 1

KeyTrain Career Ready 101 offers a wide range of high quality instructional modules related to developing career readiness skills. The material is most suitable for use either prior to or at the time of specific skill development. The various instructional units are self-paced with students progressing through different content areas and levels of instruction. The flexibility provided is a strength of the material; the material can accommodate differences in interest, background, achievement and career goals. Students also can progress at different rates. The instructional path is easy to follow, the material is clearly presented and the format attractive. There is ample material for teacher use, including a system for tracking student progress. While some technical areas are examined in relation to career readiness skills, such as mechanics and hydraulics, the majority of the instructional material relates to applied math writing skills and work habits and attitudes.

Overall, the presentation is basic and “conventional,” with little innovation and creativity. But it is solid. Students basically complete exercises. Like all IT based instructional material, however, there are challenges to consider. Students need to have appropriate reading and computer skills. There are also hardware requirements that need an up-front and on-going investment. The maintenance of hardware will be a continuing challenge. Economies of scale are required to offset what can be a high unit cost of instruction if the user base is not large. System as well as content obsolescence is a fact that will inevitably arise. Typically the use life of this kind of instructional material is five years.

 

Review 1
Know About Business is designed and intended for use in a formal school setting, from secondary school through higher education. The Facilitator's Guide, Student Workbook, and instructional Modules provide all the materials that are needed to implement a comprehensive course that introduces young people to the world of business and entrepreneurship. The fact that the materials have been translated into over 15 languages makes the curriculum accessible and immediately useful to practitioners in a range of countries. Because the materials are only available to facilitators who complete an [International Labour Organization] ILO-authorized Training of Facilitators, the quality and integrity of the curriculum delivery is not left to chance. 
While many of the activities could be adapted for use with youth who may have only a primary school education or one or two years of secondary school, the materials are heavily text-dependent. Practitioners who are interested in using these materials should pay close attention to the academic skill levels of potential youth participants and plan accordingly. Of course, staff of secondary, vocational or technical schools, and higher education institutions will also want to study the materials and make decisions about using the materials that best fit with the needs and schedules of youth participants. 
This curriculum does not  place an emphasis on market-driven approaches to entrepreneurship. The curriculum would be strengthened by a full module that helps young people learn about the process of  investigating and analyzing market opportunities, introduces the concept of value-chains, and guides students in how to make decisions based on market demands. 
Those looking for more traditional business development materials will find useful information and activities that help young people think through the nitty-gritty of starting and running a small business.

Review 1
The Career Passport does not offer specific "life skills" and/or "employability skills," but is instead focused on tracking the skills gained from education, volunteering, and employment. It is therefore intended to complement other life and employability preparedness programs. It is an essential program that, if integrated by grade ten (at the latest), would allow youth to build a profile that reflects their personal and professional development, and help them to develop the skills to become self evaluators. While the curriculum is clear and straightforward, the Career Passport could benefit from a redesign to make it more visually appealing, or adapted as an online tool. If digitized, it would be even more interesting to youth, since technology is a language they all understand and can relate to.

Review 1

This Activity Book is written for a very specific audience (adolescent Malawian girls) yet is generic enough to be adapted to other country contexts. It is a good model of contextually relevant and culturally appropriate material, using a variety of active learning approaches. The directions for each activity are clearly described in simple language, making it accessible to facilitators or instructors who may not have finished secondary school. The introduction to each Topic Area provides basic background about the topic, why it is important, and what the girls can be expected to learn by participating in the Activities.

The Book seems to assume that participants have a certain level of literacy and numeracy; however, most activities ask for a volunteer to read, write or calculate. The Book could benefit from some guidance on ways to adapt the reading, writing and math activities for use with girls who are still developing these basic skills (other than to suggest ways the Activities can be used in Reflect literacy circles). This reviewer estimates the reading level of scenarios and other participant materials to be at 3rd- to 4th-grade level, and the directions for the facilitator to be at approximately 6th-grade level, using a readability analysis.

In addition, the Book would be strengthened by some general guidance and tips for the facilitator. However, because these materials are companion materials to other programs and not designed as a 'stand-alone' resource, perhaps this supporting information for facilitators is found elsewhere.

The Activity Book would be useful to a program planner who is looking for introductory, easy to understand and implement activities that introduce young people to market based concepts and personal financial planning.