New resources for veterans
CareerOneStop’s new Veterans Job Matcher helps transitioning service members and veterans identify civilian careers that match their military experience—and then shows them local job postings for the careers they’re interested in.
Users simply enter their military job title or code, and receive a list of civilian careers that use similar skills and work experience as that military job. For each of the civilian careers on their list, veterans can review basic career information such as typical wages, training expectations, and job outlook. They can easily sort their list to highlight the occupations that might be the best fit for them—and then link to job postings in their local area.
Users can compare civilian career options by several different measures:
- Typical Pay Grade: the minimum military pay grade that usually qualifies someone for this civilian career. Users can use this to help decide if a civilian career is appropriate for their own career level. If the Typical Pay Grade is the same or very close to their actual Pay Grade, the civilian career may be a good fit; if it’s much higher than their actual Pay Grade, they may not qualify for jobs in that particular field; and if it’s much lower than their actual Pay Grade, they might find that the civilian salary does not meet their requirements.
- Typical Wages: the median annual salary for all workers in the career.
- Typical Education: the amount of education that most workers have when they enter the career.
- Outlook: a measure of how fast the career is expected to grow. This can help users identify demand in the job market for that career.
- Job postings: when users enter a location, they’ll link directly to local job postings for any career of interest.
The Veterans Job Matcher uses the O*NET Military Search equation, which matches military jobs to civilian careers based on skills and other factors.
Veterans will also find updated content and resources on CareerOneStop’s Veteran and Military Transition Center, including a new Explore Civilian Careers section, an expanded Job Search section, and many new worksheets, resume samples that highlight military experience, and other veteran-specific resources based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Transition Assistance Program.
Coming soon, CareerOneStop will launch TAP App, a mobile app to help transitioning service members and veterans stay on track to achieve their career, education, and employment goals.
Updated in-demand certifications
CareerOneStop has updated its in-demand certification list. These are the certifications that have been identified as in-demand through CareerOneStop’s analysis of national job posting data—and marked with a chili pepper icon in the Certification Finder.
CareerOneStop’s certifications database now includes nearly 500 of these in-demand certifications—including 143 that have been recently added. Workers, job seekers, and others who use the Certification Finder are encouraged to pay attention to these employer-identified certifications as they sort through certification options that could boost their careers.
Users can search for a certification by name, industry, or occupation. CareerOneStop’s Certification Finder includes three main types of certifications:
- Skill certifications—these cover basic skills, and can often be applied in several career fields. Examples include a CPR certification or a desktop publishing certification. Some skill certifications are specific to a product, such as a software program.
- Specialty certifications—these relate to specialties within certain fields. For example, an Oncology Nurse certification and a Pediatric Nurse certification are both nursing certifications.
- Advanced certifications—these require an Associate’s degree or higher, as well as more than two years of work experience. Sometimes they require that you hold a ‘core’ level certification from the same organization.
CareerOneStop's Video Library
Did you know that CareerOneStop’s Video Library now includes more than 500 career videos? Each 90-second video gives a career overview and highlights important tasks, education requirements, particular challenges, settings where people in the field work, and more. Up-to-date employment outlook and typical wages are displayed on screen. Videos are closed captioned in English and Spanish.
Career videos are integrated into CareerOneStop’s Occupation Profiles, providing users with additional career information.
The library also includes videos on career clusters, industries, work options, and abilities. Additional Spanish career videos are also available. CareerOneStop videos are available to view and share on YouTube.
Counselor resource: User Guide for GetMyFuture.org
GetMyFuture.org, CareerOneStop’s website for young adults, provides a wealth of tools and information to help young people make smart career decisions, plan their education or training, and find employment. The site also offers specialized resources for youth facing barriers to success.
Young people aged 16 to 24 can easily find resources to plan and achieve a path to career success. The website features an interactive User Guide that outlines key pages and activities to walk a user through the steps to establish a baseline in any of the site’s three key topic areas:
- Find a career that’s right
- Make a training plan
- Apply for a job
For example, in the “Make a training plan” section, users are invited to view an Occupation Profile to find out the level of training needed for their chosen career, sort out the right training options for their needs, find schools and programs in their local area using the Local Training Finder, learn about different ways to pay for school, and compare the impact of levels of education on earnings.
Although the website and the User Guide are both designed for youth to use on their own, both are also excellent resources for school or youth counselors working with individuals or groups of young adults. Counselors will also be interested in the User Guide’s worksheets and checklists that are ready to download or print, as well as quick access to success story videos.
Licensing resources for military spouses
If you’re a workforce professional near a military base, you may have clients who are military spouses—and you may know some of the particular barriers they face. Military families are 10 times more likely to move across state lines when compared to their civilian counterparts. This highly mobile military lifestyle can create specific barriers to employment for military spouses in licensed occupations.
But did you know that many states have recognized this and passed laws that can help? Some states require or encourage licensing boards to grant military spouses expedited applications, temporary licenses, and/or license reciprocity. If you have clients who have moved to your community from a different state, or are embarking on a move to a new state, there are resources you can share with them.
The U.S. Department of Labor has identified four steps for currently licensed military spouses or spouses interested in entering licensed occupations to follow:
STEP 1: Learn about license recognition options by visiting the U.S. Department of Labor’s map at https://www.veterans.gov/MilSpouses. Hover over each state to learn about the specific laws and resources offered to military spouses who work in licensed occupations.
STEP 2: Explore occupation-specific guidance by visiting Military OneSource. Many states have joined interstate reciprocity agreements for certain occupations. These agreements allow licensees to practice in multiple states more easily.
STEP 3: Find Your Licensing Board by visiting CareerOneStop’s License Finder. The License Finder provides state-specific information about occupational licenses required, such as the license name, description, and issuing agency contact information.
STEP 4: Contact your Licensing Board. Start by visiting the licensing board’s website and following any posted instructions for military spouses. If you still have questions after visiting the website, contact the licensing board using the tips in the License Recognition for Military Spouses Resource Guide.
New in the CareerOneStop Toolkit:
Employment Patterns
CareerOneStop’s newest online tool provides a snapshot of industry employment by occupation. Visit Employment Patterns to see employment by industry within any one of more than 800 occupations. Simply enter the occupation of your choice and you’ll find a list of industries that employ workers in that career. For each industry, you’ll see:
- The official industry name. You can click the link to view a full profile of information about the industry from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The share of all workers in the occupation that are employed by the industry
- The number of workers in the occupation who were employed in the industry in 2018, followed by the number expected to be employed in 2028
- The rate of employment growth expected over the ten years in this combination of industry and occupation
Knowing which industries hire workers in any given occupation is valuable information for both first-time job seekers and for people wanting to change jobs or advance in their careers. The industry/occupation employment data in Employment Patterns come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections program
American Job Centers: a full range of employment assistance under one roof
CareerOneStop.org offers a wealth of online employment and training resources, and it’s also the source for finding in-person employment assistance at one of the thousands of American Job Centers located across the United States.
AJCs offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and other employment-related services at no charge to the public. Most centers have a resource room with computers, printers, and phones. Customers can access online job banks, resume software, and other job search resources.
Many centers also offer free classes, job search workshops, and job clubs. These services might help people practice interviewing, set career goals, or get answers to other employment-related questions and concerns. At many centers, people can make an appointment to get personal assistance. AJCs also offer special services for veterans, young adults, dislocated workers, and others. Everybody should ask if they might qualify for one of these programs.
The American Job Center system is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. Anybody can locate a local AJC at www.CareerOneStop.org/JobCenter, or by calling ETA's toll-free help line at 1-877-US-2JOBS (TTY: 1-877-889-5267).
Looking for resources for diverse populations?
CareerOneStop aims to meet the career, training, and employment needs of all people across the United States. Jobseekers, students, workforce professionals, employers, and others will find online career tools, information, authoritative data, and links to related resources at CareerOneStop.org.
CareerOneStop also offers several targeted portals for diverse groups—with a focus on hard-to-serve populations. Check out these websites that serve the following audiences:
- Veterans will find a one-stop website for employment, training, and financial help after military service at the Veteran and Military Transition Center.
- Young adults age 16 to 24 can access employment and training resources via GetMyFuture.
- People with criminal convictions can visit Job Search Help for Ex-Offenders for relevant tools and tips on meeting their employment goals.
- Laid-off workers will find targeted employment, training, and benefits information at Worker ReEmployment. They can also see how their skills transfer to other occupations at mySkills myFuture.
- People with disabilities will find relevant information at Resources for Workers with Disabilities.
- Employers will find resources for hiring, training, and retaining a strong workforce at the Business Center.
