Occupational education is a required course in a homeschooling curriculum in Washington state. When explaining this to parents, I tell them that it is merely asking your child/student, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It is career exploration and is, perhaps, the easiest of all subjects to cover. This is an important topic whether this subject is required in your state or not.
A lot of natural learning, daily life, and observing your children to see what their interests and/or abilities are will help you "teach" or "facilitate" this area. Babysitting and daily chores in the house will help enforce what being an adult will be like. Bake bread, cook, and learn to make jam or jelly. Gardening or farming have fun and interesting tasks. Help with the chores, harvest the crop, and preserve the food. Working on the car can be preparation for a mechanic but it will also be an important skill for them to know so they can maintain their car. They can learn, not only to put gas in the car, but put oil in or change it. Change spark plugs. Change tires. Replace brakes. Take "field trips" to various job sites in your community so they can see what the job is like and you can explain what training will be needed. Watch a repairman in your home.
Get involved in service projects in the community: Habitat for Humanity, nursing homes and hospitals, the library, civic theaters, symphonies, galleries, museums. Not only can these places widen your child's view of the world, but they can also be presented as a job or career possibility.
Boy and Girl Scouts offer a wide range of career opportunities, as do other similar organizations. I was a Girl Scout growing up and, therefore, am most familiar with their program. You can apply what is stated here to another organization in which your children participate. Girl Scouts is the only international organization for girls and women. As a Brownie Girl Scout, they begin learning about various careers through fun activities. As a Junior Girl Scout, they must teach a skill they have learned to earn their badge. Though career possibilities are taught throughout the program, the older girls have many activities and projects that prepare them for the world of work.
Much of the information presented to children in texts is embedded in the curriculum, especially at the younger level. For example: if students are reading about stars and planets in their science curriculum, the book may discuss what an astronomer does; then you could bring up other possibilities like being an astronaut for NASA or working on their computers. The list goes on and on.
Observe your children. In what subjects are they best? How does their personality "fit" certain careers? (If one thinks he or she wants to be a lab technician, a nurse or a doctor, but can't stand the sight of blood; then medicine may not be the best career option.) Learn about the Multiple Intelligences and steer them in the direction of their abilities.
As your students get older, you may choose to have them take the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory or the Myers-Briggs to guide them as the move toward their college years.
Occupation education is a necessary "course of study", but is simple to discuss and teach or facilitate.