MeL Minute

New Year, New Career Tools: LearningExpress Library

In need of a new job?  New career? The LearningExpress Library has plenty of options to assist in the changes you are seeking for the new year! Whether your interests are geared toward the military, a career in technology, or working on environmental issues, there are new resources in LearningExpress that can help you get started. 

Green Economy, Hot Technologies & STEM Occupations 

Although Job & Career Accelerator is not a new resource to LearningExpress Library, new search options have been added, and the occupation card information has been updated substantially. Users can now search through a curated list of hot technology, green economy, and STEM occupations. Each occupation card lists the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job as well as the required education, wage trends by individual state, current open positions in the field, and a video clip describing and showing a person working in that position.    

• The Hot Technologies category allows users to explore the most in-demand technologies and software skills frequently included in employer job postings.  Software Developers, Computer Systems Engineers/Architects, and Market Research Analysts/Marketing Specialists are often listed among the results.  (Once video card is opened, click anywhere on screen to start playing). 
• In the Green Economy Occupations selection there is a New & Emerging category.  Listed, are those careers that are in-demand due to environmental changes, ecological scarcity, and sustainability.  Occupation cards in this area include Biofuels Processing Technicians, Climate Change Analysts, Energy Auditors, and Environmental Economists. 
• STEM Occupations offers 5 different categories for browsing:  Managerial, Postsecondary Teaching; Research, Development, Design, and Practitioners; Sales; and Technologists and Technicians.  Because of the variety of career paths in STEM occupations, jobs range from Agricultural Engineers to Video Game Designers. 

Military Pursuits 

Through the Career Exploration Center, users can make several selections related to military careers. There is an up-to-date fact sheet available for each branch of the military as well as the complete battery of ASVAB diagnostic exams, including all three levels of AFQT, Assembling Objects, Auto Shop and Information, Electronics Information, General Science, and Mechanical Comprehension.  

Upon exiting the military, the Job & Career Accelerator invites patrons to explore the Military to Civilian Occupations.  This is a unique search tool, as it allows veterans to explore civilian occupations that are similar to the military jobs they once held.  For example, a AN/USM-449A (V) Test Set Operator Intermediate Maintenance position in the Navy might pursue a civilian occupation for Electrical and Electronics Repairer of Commercial and Industrial Equipment.  

There is an abundance of resources to explore within the LearningExpress Library in MeL.org.  If your organization would like to schedule free training on accessing this content and more through the Michigan eLibrary, please contact us today.

Brought to you by Ann Kaskinen from the MeL Team. 

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