AGILITIES – Student Opportunity Tools

Jim Masker
October 24, 2025

Helping Students Create Opportunity

You see it in the news, job postings, and thought articles every day: the 21st-century workplace is rapidly evolving; today’s youth must prepare for careers that may change or don’t yet exist.. As these career shifts are unfolding in real time, however, how can CTE teachers and career counselors help young people see viable career pathways? What off-the-shelf tools are available to guide the next generation as they navigate an uncertain future in the workforce?

One option comes from Empowered’s community partner, The DeBruce Foundation. Their Agilities^© Framework debuted in 2019 and is based on an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data covering nearly 1,000 occupations and 60,000 specific jobs. It emphasizes the actual work being performed rather than traditional skill requirements. At the heart of this idea is the concept of comparative advantage, the belief that each person has unique skills that, when combined with others’ strengths, lead to more successful outcomes.

The Agile Work Profiler^© Tool

(Middle School, High School (8th Grade and Beyond))

Students begin their career exploration with a free, 15-minute online assessment that prompts them to reflect on tasks they enjoy and are good at. Their responses generate a personalized, ranked list of Agilities that highlight their current strengths and interests. Over 400,000 have taken the assessment.

Connecting Agilities to Careers

Using their personalized Agile Work Profiler results Agilities profile, students explore career pathways through a self-paced or teacher-guided experience. The Career Explorer Tools^© are interactive tools to discover career options and learn more about jobs, including:

Agilities used
Salary
Industry
Demand
Education and preparation

The Agilities’ Career Explorer Tools offer interactive resources, including databases that show:

Agilities required by occupation
Pay scales by Agility
Job demand by Agility
Post-secondary education options

For example, the Agility called “Operating Objects” lists a variety of aligned careers such as mail clerks, Emergency Medical Technicians, forensic science technicians, machinists, tractor-trailer drivers, and several others.

Classroom Resources

(Elementary School, Middle School, High School)

Agilities.org provides downloadable, grade-specific resources that are used by over 1,400 school districts across the country. These resources include:

Ready-made lessons including facilitation guides, teaching slides, and student handouts
Posters and occupation fact sheets
Interactive games, reflective activities, and videos
Group projects and discussion prompts
Professional Development for Educators

Educators can access free virtual and in-person training, along with facilitation guides, lesson plans, videos, templates, and standards-aligned documentation for Common Core, CASEL, Jobs for America’s Graduates, and National Employability Skills.

Cost

All Agilities tools and resources are available to educators and students at no cost. We encourage you to take their free Agile Work Profiler assessment and judge for yourself the value for students. Be sure to share your experiences with us on “Teacher Talk” inside Empowered Hub.

The DeBruce Foundation’s Agilities framework is a valuable resource to help students identify and hone their comparative advantages for future-ready careers. Blending this with many of Empowered’s activities and principled strategies can help build a collaborative culture where students find their individual paths to success.

SPECIAL EVENT

Join the DeBruce Foundation virtually on THUR. 11/06 from 4-5PM (CT) for “Employment Empowerment for K-12: From Classroom to Career” with:

Dr. Brad Johnson, Bestselling Author, Global Education and Leadership Keynote Speaker
Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, Executive Director & COO, The DeBruce Foundation
K-12 Educators, sharing right from their elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.

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