Homeschooled preteens and teens have the flexibility to include internships, apprenticeships, and volunteer opportunities into their daily learning plans. Not only are these experiences valuable for employment, they can help explore career paths, and count as valuable learning outside of the traditional classroom norm.
There are several resources available to help connect students with these valuable opportunities.
More information about Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and several dual-enrollment opportunities is available on our High School & Beyond page here.
Career Counseling and Job Matching
In summer 2022, the NH Department of Education entered a contract with Awato to offer career counseling and job matching services to all teens as part of the “Drive to 65 Act” that seeks to have 65% of NH’s workforce possess some kind of post-secondary credential by 2025. Read more about this program here.
The Awato platform uses several adaptive assessments to help teens discover possible job and career interests, and gives information about those options, including education requirements, earning potential, and other career resources.
The service also matches students with NH-based employers for internships, job-shadowing, apprenticeships, as well as other employment opportunities.
Homeschooled students and parents share the same login information and select the “NHDE” as the coordinator to utilize this service.
Create a student profile with Awato here. They added a video to explain how to get started with their platform.
Apprenticeships
ApprenticeshipNH is a program through the state community colleges that offers “pre-apprenticeship” experiences to students in 10th and 11th grades. They have opportunities to learn in any of six industry sectors — advanced manufacturing, automotive technology, business and finance, construction and infrastructure, healthcare, and hospitality. Read more about apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships here.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer NH is a portal to help people find volunteer opportunities with nonprofits such as Special Olympics, soup kitchens, food pantries, 4-H organizations, AARP, AbilityPLUS Adaptive Sports, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Animal Rescue League of NH, Best Buddies NH, Boys & Girls Clubs, Catholic Charities NH, senior centers, and many, many more.
If you’re looking for service project ideas, this article has a huge list that might inspire you and your teen.
School-to-Work
The NH Department of Labor has a program that gives students work-based learning opportunities. More information, including approved work sites, is available on the NH DOL website.