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One-stop career centers: all in one place and everyplace - job hunting resources

Occupational Outlook Quarterly - September 22, 1997

Continued from page 1.

One-stops run on information. This information flows from an electronic structure that supports the national work force development system encompassing the one-stops. This electronic backbone has four parts: America's Job Bank, America's Talent Bank, America's Labor Market Information System, and America's Training Network. The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has taken the lead in developing all four.

America's Job Bank (AJB) contains job openings posted with local employment services offices and directly to the Internet. Each of the 50 States has its own Internet-accessible job bank that contributes to the national job bank. On an average day, jobseekers may search through more than 750,000 job listings on AJB. Check it out at www.ajb.dni.us

America's Talent Bank (ATB) holds electronic resumes posted with local employment services offices and directly to the Internet. Each of the 33 one-stop States will also have its own resume bank. Employers will search the bank to find candidates with the skills needed to fill available jobs. Take a look at www.atb.org

America's Labor Market Information System (ALMIS) will deliver wage rates, occupational and industry employment projections (short and long term), labor supply and demand data, employment and unemployment statistics, employer profiles, area profiles, and occupational descriptions (including relevant skill standards). The Web address is ecuvax.cis.ecu. edu/~lmi/lmi.html

America's Training Network (ATN) is still in design. When implemented, it will serve as a national database of training opportunities, providing information on courses offered by traditional institutions and those available via distance learning. ATN will also include an inventory of commercially and publicly developed computer-based instruction.

Growing links between AJB, ATB, and ALMIS promise increasing benefits to users in the future. Posting a resume to ATB, for example, will trigger the display of relevant job openings from AJB. Links between ALMIS and the job and talent databases will give jobseekers labor market information specific to their job search. After finding a job opening on AJB, a user might check national, state, and local wage data for the occupation to see if the salary offered is competitive. The user can also look at any of the other relevant information in ALMIS. The ordinary jobseeker will draw upon extraordinary information in making employment decisions--and training decisions when ATN comes on line.

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration provides easy links to all these sites, as well as additional information on labor markets, training programs, apprenticeship opportunities, and other valuable services for jobseekers and students. Just set your browser to www.doleta.gov

One-Stops, At Your Service

One-stop career centers have something to offer you, regardless of your educational level, employment status, or career plans. Stop by and explore on your own, or consult with. staff for assistance. Whether you visit in person or via cyberspace, you'll find resources to help you make informed choices about your working future.

The following segments describe the kinds of services you may receive at one-stops. Even though the characters in these stories are made up, the one-stop career centers and the services portrayed are all real. Happy endings, of course, are never guaranteed in the world of work, but these stories show what possibilities one-stops inspire.

From High School to Career

To Kerry, CareerNet Visions seems like a computer game about herself. A video clip plays onscreen, and the woman in it--someone her classmates already call the "CareerNet woman"--says they are about to do a career search.

"In this part of the system," says their guidance counselor, Mr. Johnson, "you'll answer questions about your interests and the job characteristics that are important to you. Then, the system will match you with a list of occupations that might suit you based on your answers."

Kerry glances around at her 17 classmates who sit at their computer terminals in the career center none of them has seen before today. She has never heard of a guidance counseling field trip before, but she admits it's pretty interesting. She reads the career interest questions and selects an answer to each by touching it on the computer screen. "Hey, I like this better than using a mouse," she says to her neighbor, who smiles back at her.

The guidance counselor checks to see how each student is doing and answers questions that come up. When the students finish, Mr. Johnson explains how they may explore different occupations as career options using the system.

"There are profiles on hundreds of occupations," he explains. "You can read about any of them, even if they don't appear on the personalized list of occupations CareerNet has generated for you. But let's look at the list first. How many occupations are on your list, Kerry?"

"Twelve."

"Good," Mr. Johnson says. "Out of those 12, do any jump out at you as something you might like to do?"

"Uhmm...travel agent," Kerry says, but quickly adds, "No, wait. Real estate agent."

"OK," the counselor says. "Now, I want everyone to pick an occupation to start with. And remember, you can always go back later and look at anything else."

Kerry selects real estate agent and begins reading about the nature of the work, the number employed in her home State of Maryland, earnings, training required, and the outlook for employment in the future. It looks good to her, but she wants to read about other occupations in the limited time they have. Following Mr. Johnson's advice, she quickly browses through several and prints the ones she wants to study later.

After Kerry's classmates do the same, Mr. Johnson introduces some other features of CareerNet. "Besides exploring careers," he says, "you can find colleges or other postsecondary schools to prepare you for the career you pick. Plus, the system gives you current labor market information."

"That's cool," Kerry says, "but I won't be starting my real career for a while. What if I just want a summer job waiting tables after junior year?"

"Good point," the counselor replies. "Another part of the system, called Maryland's Job Bank, lets you search job listings here."

"Even jobs for high school kids?" asks Kerry's neighbor.

"Some, yes. And as you'll see, each listing specifies the minimum education required, so you can tell what you might qualify for."

"OK, but here in Rockville, we're right by Virginia and DC," Kerry's neighbor says. "If you want a job there, the system won't help you, huh?"

"Yes, it will. You've also got access to the Internet, so you can search listings in any State or combination of States using America's Job Bank. Now, I'm going to take you through these features to give you a quick look. We'll be able to come back later in the year to do more, but I encourage you to explore the system further on your own."

"How can we get here to Montgomery College to do that?" Kerry asks. "Can we borrow your car?"

"Try plan B," the counselor says over the students' laughter. "CareerNet is on wheels now--seriously--and I'm giving you all a schedule showing where the CareerNet van makes its visits. Plan your next trip to the mall some weekend when the van will be parked right outside."

"For real?" Kerry asks, beaming.

"Yes," says Mr. Johnson with a smile. "And If I'm wrong, you can borrow my car."

Kerry and Chauntel stop in front of the Baltimore row house where Chauntel lives. They pause at the bottom of the steps, enjoying the sun and the first full week of summer vacation. Chauntel is 2 years younger than Kerry, but they've been best friends as far back as either remembers.

"I'm glad I could visit you this week," Kerry says. "I hardly ever see you since you moved here from Rockville."

"Yeah," Chauntel says. "I wish you could stay longer, but what's up with this new summer job of yours?"

"I'll be working at a travel agency, answering phones, delivering tickets--things like that. Really, it's an internship, though, not a job. They won't be paying me."

"Won't pay you!" Chauntel says. "Get out! Why should you work for nothing?"

"It's for the experience," Kerry says. "I want to see what it's really like to be a travel agent."

"I thought you wanted to sell real estate."

"I did," says Kerry, "but I want to be a travel agent, too. Besides, that might be one way to start out so I could move into real estate later on."

"How are you getting all these ideas in that head of yours?"

"You'll understand better when you grow up," Kerry says, teasing. "But it all started with what I learned about different occupations from CareerNet."

"You mean one of those career centers?" Chauntel asks.

"That's where we went to use it," Kerry says. "How did you know?"

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