The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a new online tool that will allow current and prospective health care workers to explore more than 80 different occupations, identify local education and training programs, and tap into current job listings. Through the Virtual Career Network, users also can learn how previous experience such as military or on-the-job training can be applied toward a health care career, take free online courses and find sources of financial aid.
The Virtual Career Network is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration under the leadership of the American Association of Community Colleges, and is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. To build the Virtual Career Network and provide initial content, the AACC collaborated with the National Association of Workforce Boards, the American Council on Education, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, the DirectEmployers Association, the U.S. Department of Defense, Jobs for the Future, the American Dental Education Association's Explore Health Careers, XPAND, Education 2 Go and iSeek Solutions.
Goodwill Industries International, the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services and SER-Jobs for Progress National have received additional grant funds to ensure that local training centers in nearly 100 sites across the U.S. have the appropriate number of computers, sufficient Internet connections and trained career coaches to make use of the Virtual Career Network and provide in-person support for job seekers.