Individual Career Plan (ICP)

The ICP (Individual Career Plan) represents a pivotal point in a student's career decision-making process. It is a planning document initiated by the student no later than the eighth grade. It includes several components: a career skills checklist, and documentation of actual work experience and community involvement experiences. The ICP also includes activities related to SCANS (The Secretary's Commission on Acheiving Necessary Skills, U.S. Department of Labor, 1991). The entire ICP document is completed by and reflects the thoughts of the student. ICP materials in the form of the Ohio Career Planning System (Kuder®) are provided to each Middle School and High School in Delaware County.

Research gathered yearly by Career Development Coordinators throughout Ohio shows that, between grades 8 and 11, about 50% of students change their career goals. Through the career development process, students have the opportunity through exploration experiences and further research to validate the tentative career goals they have set.

We require at least one assessment of career interest prior to initiating the ICP in grade 8. Students assess their career interests and career aptitudes again in grades 8-12, usually during grade 10. We also encourage at least one career exploration experience, preferably job shadowing, during high school. ICP's become career "scrapbooks" with all the information students can gather about themselves and their career choices.