Job & Career Accelerator Selected as Part of Michigan eLibrary

New York City-based Learning Express LLC announced Thursday that it will provide its Job & Career Accelerator, a new Web resource for Michigan job seekers, to the Library of Michigan's Michigan eLibrary.

The new resource joins LearningExpress Library, a test and tutorial resource, already available through MeL.

This new resource in the MeL is made possible by a federal stimulus grant through round two of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Public Computer Center Grant. The $6 million grant, awarded to Michigan State University in August, will give residents in Michigan tools and training for broadband use, increase the number of computers in Michigan libraries, and provide additional resources to all libraries, schools, businesses and residents in the state. As a result of the grant, Michigan State University will also receive access to Job & Career Accelerator.

Job & Career Accelerator's job guidance and search platform arrives as the unemployment in Michigan has risen from 6.9 percent in 2007 to 12.9 percent in 2010. This data places Michigan state residents in one of the eight hardest hit job markets in the United States. During this time, public libraries have seen an increasing demand for job search assistance and librarians have stepped up to assist the unemployed with their job searches. 

"We are well aware of how public library users are turning to their libraries for job search assistance," said Nancy Robertson, State Librarian of Michigan. "Job & Career Accelerator will be an excellent resource for librarians to use with their job seeking public." 

The easy-to-use learning path in Job & Career Accelerator provides users with a personalized job search experience and will help librarians as well as workforce development professionals simplify the entire job search process.

Without Internet access or a method to respond electronically to job advertisements in today's standard web-based job application process, it is difficult for the long-term unemployed to get back on their feet. MeL enables job seekers to access the tools and information in Job & Career Accelerator to achieve employment success. Through the Michigan agreement, MeL will provide access to both LearningExpress Library and Job & Career Accelerator to state residents who are job seeking or career changing.

In addition to access to millions of active job and internship postings, Job & Career Accelerator provides a wide array of valuable information including predicted job growth by field, a review of today's hottest careers, model resumes based on job titles and experience levels, interactive computer training courses, and eBooks for further skill-building and study. Job and Career Accelerator is accessible free to all Michigan residents from any computer with an Internet connection. 

MeL is a project of the Library of Michigan, an agency of the Michigan Department of Education. MeL is supported by federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, enhancing library service to all residents of the state.  Visit the Michigan eLibrary at:  http://mel.org