CareersCraft: Using Minecraft to engage students in career guidance

Abstract

Careers Wales uses Minecraft to introduce some key concepts in career management to younger students, around the ages of 8-14, in a fun and engaging way. The result, built with the aid of an external Minecraft developer, is CareersCraft.

Gameplay within the resource is designed around the six Areas of Learning and Experience (AOLEs) in the Curriculum for Wales. These are:

• Expressive Arts

• Health and Well-being

• Humanities

• Languages, Literacy and Communication

• Mathematics and Numeracy

• Science and Technology

Students complete an activity in each location which teaches a career management competency that is linked to its AOLE.

The resource is freely available to all schools in Wales, but it is unknown how many schools are using it. The combined number of downloads of CareersCraft from the Minecraft Education Edition website and the Minecraft Marketplace is more than 7 million.

Resource overview

Website: CareersCraft

CareersCraft is available via Minecraft Education Edition, which is freely available to all school pupils in Wales on the Welsh Government’s HWB learning platform.

A location was built within CareersCraft for each of the AOLEs in the Curriculum for Wales. The locations were based upon famous landmarks around Wales. Each location houses an activity which teaches a career management competency linked to its AOLE.

Examples include:

• The activity linked to humanities is based in Caernarfon Castle and explores the way jobs change over time.

• The Senedd, home of the Welsh Government, is linked to languages, literacy and communication and encourages players to explore ways of presenting their achievements and experiences as career-related skills and qualities.

• The activity at the Wales Millennium Centre enables players to explore the concept of transferable skills related to jobs within expressive arts.

Every CareersCraft activity links to information on the Careers Wales website, either in the resource itself or in the accompanying workbooks. Players are encouraged to learn to use the website to explore a range of different jobs. The aim of this is to facilitate learners’ career discovery and begin to broaden their horizons with the opportunities that might be available to them.

Description of technology

CareersCraft is available via Minecraft Education Edition, which is freely available to all school pupils in Wales on the Welsh Government’s HWB learning platform.

CareersCraft is also available in the global Minecraft Marketplace and (as of 2023) has been downloaded more than 7 million times, putting it in the top 0.5% of all downloaded content on the marketplace.

How the resource makes career guidance more effective, efficient and/or equitable for students

CareersCraft introduces key concepts in career management to younger children, around the ages of 8-14, in a fun and engaging way.

CareersCraft was recognised in 2021, when it won a UK Career Development Institute (CDI) award in the ‘Use of Technology in Career Development’ category.

Challenges or potential barriers to use

The use of text-based responses from non-playable characters (NPCs) within CareersCraft limits its effectiveness for some pupils with Additional Learning Needs.

The resource is free of charge

Support for users

Younger pupils and first-time users may need an introduction to Minecraft controls. Some younger pupils will benefit from support from teaching staff to complete some of the activities.

Additional details

CareersCraft is free to download on Minecraft Education, and lesson plans and pupil workbooks are available from that site. However, the game itself is playable without these, as they only contain supplementary activities on the Careers Wales website and links between the activities and the requirements of the Curriculum for Wales.

It is helpful if teachers have a basic knowledge of Minecraft i.e. controls and navigation.

 

Has the resource been…	Yes or No?	Description	Link
…informed by research?	No
…funded by government?	Yes	It was funded by Careers Wales, the national CIAG organisation in Wales. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Welsh Government.
…recognized by peers?	Yes	CareersCraft was recognised in 2021, when it won a UK Career Development Institute (CDI) award in the ‘Use of Technology in Career Development’ category.
…evaluated?	No

This resource is government supported.

Disclaimer: This content is provided by the submitting organisation.