By Lynn Armitage, WCER Communications
As the world is sheltering safely at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many have more time to look ahead and think about their future — including children, who can explore the age-old question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Parents now can help their kids answer that and other questions from home, and get career help themselves, with a self-paced, online career-information system called CareerLocker.
UW–Madison’s School of Education developed the system for in-school and at-home use with content customized for elementary, middle high school, and college students, as well as for adults. The university is providing free access to CareerLocker through Sept. 30 to help support learning at home while schools and many facilities are closed.
“CareerLocker helps users go through the career development process of ‘Who am I? Where am I going? And how do I get there?’” says Director Ann Fillback Watt, who believes this quarantine period offers the perfect opportunity for families to access CareerLocker’s detailed information on more than 800 occupations, as well as a myriad of career-planning tools.
The tools include self-directed assessments on interests, skills, and values; job interview, resume, and ePortfolio building tools; and links to job openings.
“We also offer information on more than 6,000 colleges and universities nationwide, including community and technical colleges. So, students thinking about their future education can research their options. Or for anyone who has lost a job due to COVID-19, CareerLocker can help plan their next career move,” explains Fillback Watt.
CareerLocker is especially helpful to parents right now, since spring is when many families tour colleges and universities to decide where their high schoolers will study in the future. Although campus tours are shut down all over the country due to the pandemic, parents can find a wealth of information on post-secondary institutions on CareerLocker.
“Think of all the money you will save on travel costs,” says CareerLocker’s director, highlighting an upside to sheltering at home. “Of course, nothing replaces talking to people in person or visiting a college to see what it’s all about. But with COVID-19 preventing a lot of face-to-face time, making those connections virtually through CareerLocker is the next best thing.”
For free access, go to CareerLocker and click on “Create a New Account.” Type in the registration code: clfaww-c229, then enter a username and password.