"Thirty days have November, April, June, and September..."Sooooo, I may have failed to remember November's 30 days made last Friday the first Friday of December. So, welcome to first Monday installment of Fantastically Free First Fridays! This month's F4 feature is My Next Move, one of a number of great resources available from the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.
My Next Move is a set of career navigation tools that can be used to help learners and jobseekers identify career matches by keywords, by industry, or by their interests. What I love about the tool is it is linked to O*Net, the Department of Labor's occupational database. So, in addition to finding careers that align on one's interests, learners and jobseekers have the opportunity to explore each career in detail. Occupational profiles provide opportunities to research what the job entails, information regarding skills and abilities needed, what level of education is needed, and wage and job outlook data at the national and state levels. Many of the profiles also include a career video. Here is a link to the occupational profile for Dental Assistant.
They way the My Next Move Interest Profiler works is the learner or jobseeker answers a series of 60 questions related to how much they like or dislike performing different common job tasks. Based on their responses, they see how their interests align to job themes, and then see a listing of top job matches based on their interests. This list can be adjusted according to the level of education and training the learner or jobseeker intends to pursue, which impacts what is known as the Job Zone.
The user can click on any of the job matches listed to learn more by way of the O*Net occupational database. They can also see which of their matches have a bright outlook as well as which have an associated Registered Apprenticeship program.
My Next Move is available both in English and Spanish. There is also a downloadable version that, while not linked to the database, can be used in offline settings such as correctional facilities. The website also offers a number of additional tools for teachers and learners/jobseekers to users to use before, during, and after they have taken the interest inventory, as well as short- and long-form options.
O*Net also offers a My Next Move for Veterans, which has an excellent tool allowing a jobseeker to select the branch of the military in which they served, enter the name or code of their classification, and then see a list of civilian careers for which the skills and attributes match those skills that were likely developed during the veteran's time in the military.
With career pathways activities being a core component of WIOA eligibility requirements, My Next Move is a fantastic free tool for both educators and career navigators to help learners and jobseekers orient themselves to what careers might be of interest. It's also a great tool for developing digital literacy skills, and for setting expectations about the education and training plans needed for entering into a occupation or career.
Click here to download the My Next Move fact sheet. Happy exploring!
CrowdED Learning works to promote freely accessible learning tools that reduce barriers for adult learners' education and employment while promoting persistence and lifelong learning in the digital age. To learn more and stay up to date on our goings-on, please take a gander at www.crowdedlearning.org and sign up to stay in touch, volunteer your expertise, or make a recommendation. We look forward to hearing from you!
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