Business Tours/Field Trips

A business tour and/or field trip is an excursion or planned Work-Based Learning Experience for a group of students allowing them to explore or observe occupations.  These experiences should be carefully planned to provide a quality educational experience, protect the safety of the students and create positive relationships with the business.  This experience must be supervised by a Career and Technical Education (CTE) certified teacher or school counselor.

Benefits

• Permit the flexibility of arranging the business tour/field trip for one student, a small group of students or an entire class.
• Provide an exposure to careers and jobs in the actual work setting.
• Expands student learning beyond the walls of the classroom into the local community.
• Provide students with experiences and perspectives that are not possible to duplicate in the classroom.
• Allows students to gain realistic perspectives on expectations in a job and/or career field and the workplace requirements.
• Supplements information that can be obtained through other work awareness and work exploration strategies.
• Allow more informal, personal interaction and conversation between the business tour/field trip guide than traditional classroom presentations.
• Provide an opportunity to develop students’ career readiness skills, including communicating effectively and appropriately (speaking, professional etiquette), personal responsibility, etc.
• Provides information on the industry, types of careers and occupations, knowledge and skills requirements and work processes in the actual work setting.
• Students learn the importance of thinking about career development through the career path stories their tour guides share.

Success Factors

• Reach out to diverse local employers and professionals that align to students interests
  Choose business tours/field trips that allow students exposure to all aspects of the industry.
• Review examples of the business/industry’s marketing materials, products, or services performed in advance of the visit.
• Prepare students for the work environment (guidelines, restrictions, safety requirements, etc.).
• Have students generate a list of questions, prior to the visit to ask the guide(s) during the visit.
• Identify the education or training required and the skills needed for the occupations found at the business/organization.
• Clearly communicate expectations/guidelines and your understanding of what the business tour/field trip will involve to the business guide(s).
• Ask the business/employer to build in demonstrations during the tour to explain why the company has been successful.
• Request that guides allow time for employees to explain their roles, responsibilities, and how they were educated, trained or qualified to be employed at the worksite.
• Provide reflection opportunities after the business tour/field trip
  Encourage business tour/field trip guides to have tangible takeaways such as brochures, handouts, business cards, etc.
• Clearly communicate the objectives of the business tour/field trip to the guide(s) AND to the students participating.
• Have students identify and discuss the career readiness skills observed.
• Require students to write reflections and/or thank you letters following the worksite visit.
• Recognize business partners, publicly, for their involvement (e.g., thank you letters, awards, newspaper articles, framed certificate).