Choosing a technical career – matching skills and interests to jobs
Design & TechnologyCareers in TechnologyAges 14–15
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Careers in Technology
A six-competency radar chart (practical/technical skill, IT skill, math and logical thinking, design skill, communication, and organisation and management) is pre-filled according to the competency group and interest the student selects; the student can then drag each point on the chart to re-rate themselves. Every time a point is dragged, the list of technical careers is re-ranked by match; clicking a career shows its competency requirements, the training level needed, and the education pathway from lower secondary school through to employment.
Lesson: Careers in engineering and technology; the career-choice process and the structure of the national education system
What it shows
Choosing a career can be treated as a matching problem: a person's profile of competencies and interests is compared with what each job demands, alongside the training it requires and the demand for it in the labour market. The simulation scores ten technical careers, from skilled welder and electrical technician to civil engineer and programmer, by how well a six-point competency profile covers each job's requirements. Each career has a typical education pathway, showing that vocational schools and colleges lead to skilled technical work just as universities do, and that people can progress to higher levels later.
How to use
Choose a Dominant competency group, a Work interest and an Intended training level, then look at which careers top the list. Drag the points on the radar chart to rate yourself more honestly and watch the ranking change. Click a career to compare your chart with its red dashed requirement line, and tick Show the education pathway for the selected career to follow the route to employment. Try Rate myself high on everything to discuss why honest self-assessment matters.
Parameters you can change
- Dominant competency group Technical – hands-on, practical skill, Mathematical – logical thinking, IT, Design – art, creative shape and form, Communication – organisation, management
- Work interest Working with machines and equipment, Working with computers and data, Working outdoors on-site or in the field, Working with people
- Intended training level University, College, Intermediate vocational school, Short-term or elementary vocational training
- Show the education pathway for the selected career
Questions to explore
- Which career ranks first for your profile, and which competencies would you still need to develop for it?
- Which careers in the list can be reached through vocational training or college rather than university?
- What happens to the ranking when you rate yourself high on everything, and why is that result not useful?
