A career game board, a virtual travel agency, and a cutting-edge look have put Missouri Connections on the forefront of career exploration.

Missouri has already made great strides toward providing their students with top-notch career planning tools with the Missouri College and Career Planning System, powered by Kuder (MCCPS). The transition to Missouri Connections comes as a result of seeing the need to accommodate all citizens of the state, not just students.

“The idea for Missouri was that instead of many educational and job placement systems, this would be a unified site for all citizens, free of charge, and it would truly provide a lifelong career portfolio for them,” Dr. JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey, Executive Vice President of Development for Kuder, said. “Missouri will be the first state where we will roll out an additional piece so that adults who are job-seekers or job-changers will log into the same site, but find content unique to their current career planning needs.”

By making Missouri Connections a resource for both students and adults, the system takes on a whole new meaning for state leaders. Bragg Stanley, Director of Guidance and Placement for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, has been instrumental in the collaborative agreements.

“Missouri Connections is a valuable new resource for the citizens of Missouri,” Stanley said. “Through Missouri Connections, students and adults will have web-based tools and resources for meaningful educational and career planning, and job placement. Emerging technology will allow Missourians of all ages to utilize Missouri Connections, and have at their fingertips the opportunity to identify their interests and skills, explore careers and educational opportunities related to those careers, and develop relevant personal plans of study to assist them in reaching their goals. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in partnership with the Missouri Department of Economic Development is proud to be able to provide Missouri Connections to the citizens of our state.”

Missouri schools will begin using Missouri Connections later this month and adult job-seekers or job-changers will be able to access resources this summer.

But Missouri Connections is viewed as more than just an innovative education and career planning system. Many are taking a look at what this will bring for the state’s economy and employment rates.

“If we get one more kid through high school, what does that do to the economy?” Phil Harrington, President for Kuder, said. “Think about it - one more student in college with a degree, who stays in state to work – it could mean a lot. Or, a student who goes to college and completes their degree in four to five years instead of six to nine – these are actions that could dramatically affect the state’s economy, as well as boost graduation rates and lower unemployment numbers.”

From students in the sixth grade to adults hitting retirement, Missouri citizens will have all the tools necessary to build an online career portfolio that will stick with them for their entire lives. Current MCCPS users will be able to log into Missouri Connections with their established user name and password and view all previously completed work, as well as explore the new site. Schools new to Missouri Connections will be able to implement the system by attending a regional training or through the new site.

Missouri Connections was piloted in 25 schools during the fall of 2006. According to Dr. Bowlsbey, because a lot of the content will stay the same for school-age users, she said the transition will be easy. Another aspect of the system that will ensure a smooth changeover is the trainings that will be available for educators in regions throughout Missouri.

John Michael, Missouri state field trainer for Kuder, is optimistic about the advances in the Missouri Connections system. He is also looking forward to the collaborative efforts between state agencies to bring adults a reliable and trustworthy product to assist with job transitions.

“Once people see the value of this, it’s really going to go over well and be a great product on the adult education market,” Michael said. “I think when we get it fully implemented, it will be wonderful.”

While adults can take advantage of Missouri Workforce and the Missouri Department of Labor resources, students also have a number of fun and innovative ways to explore career development.

Middle school students will use the Career Pathways game to look at the six Missouri Career Paths, and further explore those areas within the context of the game. This age group can also take the Kuder Career Search with Person Match, Kuder Skills Assessment, explore occupational and postsecondary options, make a personal plan of study, and build an online portfolio. Many of these features were also in place with the MCCPS, and the Missouri Connections system continues to expand on a high-quality product with an updated look and easy-to-use site navigation.

High school students will also have access to a graphically-pleasing and informative site. Instead of the Career Pathways game, they will discover careers and postsecondary options through the “MC Travel Agency.” This virtual hub of exploration contains information on the six career paths and how they relate to the 16 Career Clusters and the different kinds of career options, plans of studies, and majors of that cluster. A college search, resumé builder, online portfolio, personal plan of study, career search engine, and assessments over interests, skills, and work values prepare high school students for the next step in their lives.

“Missouri is the first system of its kind to have all of these components,” Dr. Bowlsbey said. “We’ll be going farther with these kinds of concepts for future states and projects. Overall, it is a much more motivational approach to career development.”

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