SUBMITTED BY SD64
Ten school districts in B.C. have expressed interest in offering School District 64’s new Care Economy 11 Career Sampler course after it was showcased at the annual Career Education Conference in Vancouver last week.
Developed by SD64, co-creators Shari Hambrook, Maggie Allison and Holly Mair (SD63) explained how the course was developed, highlighting the importance of educating students about the opportunities and challenges of these “in-demand” careers under the Care Economy umbrella. Students complete the course with a strong sense of self-awareness, cultural sensitivity training, professional communication and networking skills as well as a portfolio of career options to pursue in the care economy.
In May 2023, SD64 was successful in securing a grant to create a career aampler course for the Ministry of Education on the care economy sector. This was the first of three new courses introduced by the ministry as part of their Stronger BC Initiative.
Occupations in the care economy sector involve paid and unpaid caregiving, including childcare, elder care and long-term care, allied health, education and emergency response occupations. They represent the fastest expanding economic sectors globally and feature “in-demand” careers.
The rationale behind this course is for students to gain a greater understanding of the breadth and depth of opportunities, learning what they need to know, do and understand to be successful pursuing careers in this sector. Students learn to define who they are by what they value. One value common to all occupations in this sector is “care for the vulnerable.”
The course framework was approved by the SD64 board of trustees in January 2024, and a robust 75-page Teacher Resource Guide was also created to support districts across the province adding this to their offerings.
Phase One of the project included the creation of a classroom-based course. It was taught by Hambrook at Gulf Islands Secondary School, face-to-face in the fall of 2024.
Student feedback was positive, with one student sharing, “I have gained more confidence in self-reflecting. With this class we are always being taught new ways to express ourselves and I think that I really embodied this during the class.”
Phase Two of the project began in early 2025, collaborating with SIDES, the Saanich School District’s South Island Distance Education School. That’s where Mair, a veteran teacher and writer of online courses in D2L Brightspace, transformed the curriculum into an engaging course in an online platform.
Care Economy 11 will be offered online by the Gulf Islands School District through 64GO in Semester Two of 2026.
Learn more at sd64.bc.ca/64go—care-economy-career-sampler-11.7047.