Alberta Learning Information Service

PURPOSE: To provide career, learning, employment and workplace information and tools to help Albertans make informed decisions regarding their career journey.

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MINISTRY

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Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, Government of Alberta

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DESCRIPTION

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The Alberta Learning Information Service seeks to help Albertans engage in lifelong career and education planning so they can make informed decisions, take appropriate action and succeed in the labour market.

Managed by the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, the Alberta Learning Information Service is a partnership between the ministries of Innovation and Advanced Education; Education; Human Services; and Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour. The Alberta Learning Information Service supports programs, services and shared outcomes.

The Alberta Learning Information Service provides online, print and video information resources that use Alberta’s career and labour market information as a foundation for helping Albertans plan their career, education and employment.

These resources are distributed through a multi-channel access network (online, by phone or in person) in keeping with a client-centered service delivery model. This includes the Government of Alberta delivery services such as Alberta Works Centres, the Career Information Hotline, career and employment counsellors and third-party service providers. The initiative’s resources are also used by postsecondary institutions and high schools, where some resources are authorized by Alberta Education for curriculum use.

Target Group(s)

The Alberta Learning Information Service site is targeted for high school and postsecondary students, youth in transition, job seekers, workers, newcomers, individuals with literacy barriers, mature workers, teachers, counsellors, parents, employers and career and human resources practitioners.

Innovative Element(s)

Alberta Learning Information Service includes the following innovative elements:

• OCCinfo combines occupational profiles and videos, labour market information, wage and salary data, occupations in demand, educational programs and pathways, and certification requirements for Alberta specific occupations, providing an integrated, one-stop-shop for this information.

• CAREERinsite takes Albertans through the career planning process with interactive selfassessments, an exploration of their options, and the development of a career action plan.

• Alberta Work Search Online takes a holistic approach to the work search process, focusing on helping Albertans develop core capacities such as effective work search strategies, resumé-writing and interviewing skills, and handling job offers.

• A wide range of Alberta Learning Information Service online and print resources address related topics such as planning for post-secondary, workplace safety, staying positive following a job loss and assessing whether entrepreneurship is right for you.

Timelines

The area responsible for this multi-ministry career planning work within government has existed for many years and has persisted through ministry and economic changes as well as technological transformations. Print resources came first, followed by the establishment of the Career Information Hotline in 1991, and the launch of the initial Alberta Learning Information Service website in 1997. The website has grown continually since then, both in terms of the amount of tools and content provided as well as the amount of traffic it receives.

How it Helps Align

The Alberta Learning Information Service both in print and online, provides a centrally-aligned foundational resource for the work of its four contributing ministries who, together, are responsible for the full spectrum of careers, education and employment. With all four ministries directing clients to the same evidence-based resources, government can reach out to Albertans with one connected voice.

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RESULTS

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Key Lesson(s) Learned

• The Alberta Learning Information Service has proven instrumental in promoting effective, lifelong career planning. The goal is to have the public view careers, learning and employment as part of a connected spectrum or journey, not as a series of disparate life events.

• Building and maintaining a robust, full-spectrum resource takes time, commitment and extensive collaboration.

• The inter-related aspects of occupations, labour market data, high school curriculum, postsecondary programs, professional certification, and industry information are very complex and there are many competing standards that constantly need to be aligned.

Detailed satisfaction surveys are performed every three years. In the 2013 survey, 94.2 percent of respondents reported overall satisfaction with the Alberta Learning Information Service in providing online career planning, education and employment information and services. This metric remains largely stable.

Web traffic is monitored. Over the 2013–14 fiscal year, the Alberta Learning Information Service saw 4,895,403 visits, making it the most utilized Government of Alberta web service.

Orders for print content are monitored. Over the 2013–14 fiscal year, the Alberta Learning Information Service distributed 495,240 print publications. In addition, the Alberta Learning Information Service had 321,231 PDF downloads.

First launched in 2011, the CAREERinsite career planning tool now has 135,000 registered users most of whom are Alberta junior and high school students.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

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Alberta Learning Information Service

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