PRINCE RUPERT – Northwest Community College (NWCC) offers post-secondary training for a number of potential careers, but for some students or would-be students, the hardest decision is which one of those to pursue.
What has made that decision easier is a user-friendly computer program used by the NWCC Student Services team with a number of activities to assist students and community members determine career options. Because of this, the Bridges Career and Education Explorer software has been renewed for another year.
“One portion of the program matches individuals’ skills and interests with specific careers,” says Sherry Beal, NWCC Educational Advisor in Prince Rupert. “Once these are matched, people can research the careers, accessing information relating to required education, potential wages, and employment outlook. Additionally there are interviews with people already in these types of jobs, which give people more personal information about the work, including the pros and cons of this type of career.”
If people have an idea of the field in which they would like to be employed, another Bridges activity allows users to research by career clusters, finding the specific area of interest. The same research information will be available as in the previous activities. An additional activity bases one’s areas or subjects of interest (i.e. biology, history) to match potential careers, enabling individuals to research the career profile and interviews with students who are in those specific programs.
Beal says the program is a winner. “Bridges gives students and community members a great opportunity to explore education and career options that they may have not have considered in the past. In many cases, people tend to consider your typical and traditional careers, but this program broadens minds to look at all the opportunities that are out there. The wealth of information the program provides can give individuals a clear sense of what specific jobs entail, along with outlook for employment, which I find is always a concern for people making career decisions or making that all-important career change.”
As an Educational Advisor, Beal knows all too well the obstacles students can face. The idea of starting post-secondary education can be a daunting task, but when students have a clear goal in mind, the idea of heading back to school is embraced as the beginning of an exciting new journey, she says.
Prospective students interested in using the Bridges program simply have to make an appointment with an NWCC Educational Advisor to get started. They are then recommended to do further research in the College library computer lab, after which they can make appointments with an Educational Advisor to discuss their findings and start educational plans to reach their employment/career goals. Along with educational planning, Educational Advisors are able to direct people to financial aid options to help pay for their education.
Beal cites one student, who was struggling with what type of career she wanted. The student said she was drawn toward studying history, but she didn’t think there would be any jobs for people with a degree in history other than teaching – Bridges provided many other options. Contact an NWCC Educational Advisor for more information!
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