New Career Exploration Resource for Students Launches

June 2, 2022

For Immediate Release: June 2, 2022

New Career Exploration Resource for Students Launches

AUGUSTA - The Maine Department of Labor and Department of Education have launched a new student career discovery dashboard that presents data on in-demand jobs and wages in a manner that is accessible to students in grades 6-12.

Students can explore these data in a variety of ways, such as by geographic region, career clusters of occupations with similar features, and the typical educational requirement of the career. Students can find information about the role of each career cluster in Maine's economy with a specific data point, like how many jobs there are today, what Maine workers earn in the career, and how many job openings are projected in the next ten years.

"It is exciting to see the Maine Departments of Labor and Education collaborate to bring theCenter for Workforce Research and Information website online," Maine Legislature Representative Paul Stearns said. "The site features a wonderful explorationtool to give students, parents and educators the information that they need to make sound, data driven career decisions."

MDOL's Center for Workforce Research and Information (CWRI) collaborated with the Maine Department of Education and a group of Maine educators in the design of the student-friendly dashboard. The dashboard includes a video for help navigating the webpage and an introductory guide for counselors, teachers, and students with an overview of available data on jobs and wages in Maine.

"It is never too early to explore your career options and interests," Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said. "This new tool gives students and their teachers a user-friendly way to look at potential careers, which jobs are currently in-demand, and what steps they can take to foster the skills they would need to reach their goals."

"Career exploration tools like this help students see what kinds of careers match their passions and interests, learn valuable insights and information about possible careers, and plan for their futures," Education Commissioner Pender Makin said. "We're excited to offer this interactive dashboard to students and teachers and to see the creative ways they utilize this data in their classrooms."

The dashboard can be interacted with on the Maine Department of Labor's Center for Workforce Research and Information (CWRI) website: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/student_portal/

The Center for Workforce Research and Information produces data on jobs and wages in Maine, a ten-year job outlook, and a range of other data products pertaining to Maines economy and labor market.The student friendly resource has been designed to complement existing online resources such as Get My Future and My Next Move, available to help students find careers that align to their aspirations, interest, and personality.

The 2020 Maine Learning Results Life and Career Ready standards were designed to support the development of key elements of career readiness with career awareness expectations for students in grades K-5 and career exploration and planning expectations for students in grades 6-12.