In California, a new program is being offered that lets local students and young adults have access to career-related programs. This program Sonoma County leaders to help motivate and prepare students for employment someday, according to an article from the North Bay Business Journal.
Since 2006, the program, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, has helped lots of students get full-time employment by helping them get the skills they need for entry-level jobs. Now in an attempt to upgrade the program, the youth council of the Workforce Investment Board decided to add the aspect of the Internet to the program, according to the Business Journal
You see, unlike most college applications, the program had a mostly paper application process. Now, applications are done through an online process.
If you’re in the California area and interested, the Web site, Sonoma.youngjobs.com, lets you to upload your resume and search through various resources on careers. Also, employers can now hop on the site and post available jobs, allowing for some great match-ups.
The office is also preparing to launch a system-wide career planning and academic navigational program, the article said. The new tool is going to be proposed by Kuder, Inc. The software has information on anything job-related you can think of. There are over 7,000 positions, salary, educational requirements and projected job openings included on the site.
Northern California students recently took part in a study that said those who used the Kuder Career Planning System had better ACT or SAT scores, the Journal reported. Also, once they were in secondary education, those participating in the system had fewer educational changes, the article said.
The county office that piloted the program in 15 schools last year wants to expand it to 20,000 students by the end of the 2009-2010 school year, as the popularity increases. The fee for the program is 88 center per year, the article said. Certain groups can adopt a school though for free.
Our Take:
California is really stepping up to do work on its educational system, which I think will really help students in the long run with their careers. Other states in dire need of an educational overhaul should take note and design similar programs. I’m curious to see if it will catch on even further.
