Career Planned Through Play

Choosing a profession is one of the most important decisions a young person faces. However, the question arises — to what extent does a young person have sufficient information about real professional development opportunities? Existing practice shows that the answer is often negative.

Traditional methods of career orientation provide young people with information about various professions, however, they rarely give them the opportunity to actually try these professions and make informed decisions. To put it more simply, young people are told what they will learn, but are less often shown how they will use this knowledge in real life.

It is precisely in response to this challenge that, at College “Modusi,” we developed an interactive board game — “Labyrinth of Professions,” which transforms the career orientation process into experience-based learning.

Within the framework of the game, participants are not limited to only receiving information — they themselves go through a career path, make decisions, manage their own resources, and respond to changes taking place in the labor market. For example, a tenth-grade student, through this game, faces a real choice: whether to continue studying in a vocational college or choose another path, in which skills to invest resources, and how to plan their time and finances. Each of their decisions leads to a specific outcome — sometimes opening new opportunities, and sometimes creating additional challenges. It is precisely in this process that the player begins to realize that career development is not a one-time choice, but a multi-stage process that requires prior planning, adaptation, and taking responsibility for one’s own decisions.

At the same time, the game demonstrates that vocational education is not limited only to acquiring a specific technical skill. It represents a complex process that includes planning, decision-making, assessment of opportunities, and a vision for long-term development. In this way, the game helps participants reassess the role of vocational education and see it as a strategic choice rather than only a practical alternative.

The game takes place in a modular environment, where players, using their own skills and resources, choose education and employment opportunities. They begin with initial resources — time, finances, and skills — and each decision determines their subsequent path. The logic of the game is based on the principle: choice, outcome, change.

In order for the process to be dynamic and close to a real environment, a competition element is integrated into the game, which encourages players to constantly reassess their own strategy and adapt to a changing environment.

One of the main innovative elements of the game is the gamification of real processes, which is still a relatively new approach in the educational space of Georgia. Translating such complex processes of professional development as career planning, decision-making, and adaptation to the labor market into a game format significantly simplifies their perception and increases the engagement of young people.

This gamification approach creates an environment where learning occurs not through formal instruction, but through experience, experimentation, and active participation. As a result, participants understand their own choices more deeply and better comprehend the real dynamics of professional development.

“Labyrinth of Professions” is currently in the final stage of development. Several test games have already been conducted with different target groups, including representatives of the board game guild and school students. The feedback received has played an important role in refining the game mechanics and strengthening user-oriented approaches.

At the next stage, it is planned to pilot the game with vocational college students and to demonstrate it in public schools, which will give young people the opportunity to become familiar with vocational pathways in an interactive format and better understand their own career choices.

“Labyrinth of Professions” represents an attempt to transform career orientation from the provision of information into an experience-based process and thereby strengthen young people’s ability to plan their own professional development in an informed manner.

We believe that such innovative tools can become an important part of the vocational education ecosystem, especially when they are based on cooperation, the sharing of experience, and joint development.

At the same time, our goal is to further develop this tool and apply it at an international scale, in different educational contexts. In this process, we are actively seeking partners for joint piloting, adaptation, and scaling.