A good place to start with Vocational Service is by increasing the club’s awareness of the scope of Vocational Service. What are all the occupations in our Rotary club and in the community? What vocational talents can we contribute to the problems and needs of society? How can we encourage those around us to strive toward integrity, character, and high ethical standards?

This committee should focus on developing the vocational awareness of the club and its members. Club members should be challenged to improve their leadership skills and be conscious of the ethical nature of their daily lives.

The most frequent Vocational Awareness activities

n   Classification talks

n   Tours of members’ businesses

n   Discussion groups

Classification Talks

Classification talks are essential for promoting vocational awareness in your club. The presentations give members the chance to learn the inner workings of jobs other than their own, including the various problems that arise and the solutions used to address them. Classification talks can also be of particular value to your Career Development subcommittee; information gleaned during the talks can help the subcommittee in its search for specific club members who can counsel young people in career-guidance programs.

Some of the more interesting talks are given by members whose occupations have been created recently in response to technological developments or other changes in society and the workplace. Along those same lines, it is also informative to hear from members whose jobs are in more traditional fields; they can shed some light on how such changes have affected their professions and what steps were taken to adapt to new conditions in their field or place of business.

While club members will be your primary source of speakers for classification talks, you may discover especially interesting occupations that are not represented among your club’s membership. Seek out qualified non- Rotarians who hold such positions and invite them to speak.

Tours of Members’ Businesses

The name “Rotary” originated with the practice of rotating meeting sites among members’ places of business, and that practice remains an excellent way for Rotarians to share their vocations with the club. In fact, those members who find public speaking difficult may much prefer conducting a tour of their workplace rather than giving a classification talk.

If the size of the workplace and the size of your club permit, schedule an occasional meeting in a member’s place of employment. And don’t forget to include young people on the tour. A difficult career choice can be made easier by getting firsthand knowledge about particular occupations.

Discussion Groups

The discussion group is another effective means for expanding vocational awareness. Consider setting up a panel discussion featuring representatives of different, but related, vocations — for example, a city planner, an architect, and a building contractor. The panel could explain the cooperative efforts that take place, as well as the conflicts that can arise among these three fields. They can also discuss how changes in one field affect the others.

Another type of panel discussion could feature representatives of different fields discussing how their business or profession is handling a specific controversial issue. Topics could include air and water pollution, the conflict between technological advances and human needs, the moral responsibilities of product-testing and quality control, or substance abuse in the workplace.

To get all members involved, the club could break up into small discussion groups to exchange information on assigned topics, such as how their professions or industries handle management training, labor relations, or toxic-waste disposal.

Project Examples

—  The Rotary Club of Kushiro-North, Japan, held Breakfast Study classes during October, Vocational Service Month, to concentrate on planning activities that included promoting awareness of The 4-Way Test, arranging regular club visits to workplaces, and developing a vocational lecture program for high school students.

—  District 5240 in California, USA, developed leadership in the district with Potential Rotary Leaders Seminars (PRLS). The eighthour series covered all aspects of Rotary leadership with an emphasis on public speaking and group dynamics, both of which are essential for an effective Vocational Service effort. Many clubs in the district made PRLS graduation a prerequisite for holding office.

—  The Rotaract Club of Mombasa, Kenya, explored the world of industrial processes by taking a tour of a synthetic yarn plant. The Rotaractors learned how polymer is heated, separated into fibers, wound into yarn, and processed.