The International Baccalaureate (IB) announces enhanced Career-related Programme (CP)
Combines IB academic rigour with a career track to address global skills gap
Bethesda, MD, 1 December 2014 – Today the International Baccalaureate officially launched the Career-related Programme (CP) as a standalone programme. Designed to meet the changing needs of students, universities and employers, the CP will give more students around the world access to a flexible international education. This enhancement means that all schools will be able to offer the CP and no longer need to be authorized to deliver the IB Diploma Programme as an IB World School.
The CP is a tailored programme of education that combines rigorous academics with a school-based, career-related study. The programme is designed to assist students in developing the skills they need for successful careers and lifelong learning.
21st century life places complex demands on graduates looking for work – the CP equips students in their last two years of secondary education for further education and the working world. The CP is an international educational programme relevant for today’s generation, enabling students to become self-confident, skilled and career-ready learners,. It is well suited for schools or colleges that offer career-related studies.
“In a global economy, global perspectives, lifelong learning, and analytical skills are much needed. CP students access a broad, flexible education which will give them knowledge, practical training, intellectual engagement, and international mindedness. It will also develop their higher order cognitive skills, and the academic behaviours that enhance their employability,” said Dr Siva Kumari, IB Director General.
The CP has, until now, been implemented in IB World Schools offering the Diploma Programme across 14 countries and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and educators alike. In April 2014, the CP (formerly named IBCC) was shortlisted for the prestigious World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) award, which recognizes innovative international education projects that transform society.
The CP originated from an IB project that began in 2004 in Finland, which led the IB to develop and pilot the programme with IB World Schools authorized to deliver the Diploma Programme (DP). Following a review involving schools around the world, the IB’s fourth programme was launched in 2012 under its original name IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC).
As of 1 December 2014, the programme has been renamed IB Career-related Programme (CP), in line with the other three IB programmes, and will be made available to schools across the globe.
IB Global Centre, Americas
Robin Khan, Marketing and Communications Manager: Robin.Khan@ibo.org
About the International Baccalaureate
Founded in 1968, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation which offers four high quality and challenging education programmes for a worldwide community of schools. For more than 45 years, the IB programmes have gained a reputation for rigour and high academic standards, for preparing students for life in a globalized 21st century, and for helping to develop citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world. Currently, more than one million IB students attend more than 4,000 schools in 147 countries. www.ibo.org
About the CP
The CP consists of a minimum of two IB Diploma Programme courses, a unique CP core consisting of approaches to learning, community service, language development and a reflective project and a career-related study offered by the school. This mixture of disciplines makes the programme highly appealing to students—helping them gain the experience and skills necessary to focus on prospective careers or further education—and to employers, universities and other institutes of higher education. As of now, the CP is offered in Australia, China, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, United Kingdom and the USA. Central to its success is its international scope whereby students acquire a broader global view in addition to academic skills and work-related skills.

International Baccalaureate, 7501 Wisconsin Ave Suite 200 West, Bethesda, MD 20814 United States