Getting an edge in the job market
By Cliff Bowden • Bankrate.com

Still not sure what you want to be next? People re-entering the work force can test themselves using a new, self-administered evaluation and training program.

Last summer the AARP Foundation, the 501(c)(3) affiliate of AARP, introduced the WorkSearch Assessment Program, an online tool that allows older workers to take stock of their skills, says Jim Seith, the foundation's national director for work and low-income programs.

"With support and assistance from our staff volunteers, we give them free access online to a personalized assessment system for as long as they need it," he says. "They can enter in their personal characteristics, job interests and self-assessed job skills, and the system punches out a job category or industry type from the Bureau of Labor Statistics job bank."

The WorkSearch Assessment Program includes tests that allow users to assess basic skills such as numeracy, Seith says, and identifies online study guides that allow participants to get up to speed where necessary.

Access to the study guides is free, Seith says. For a fee, job seekers can also access 1,200 courses from community and private colleges partnering with the foundation, 80 of which include certification from one of 10 major educational institutions.

"The next piece we are working on will connect individuals, once they get to a skill point they are satisfied with, to online job boards for the ZIP code they've entered based on their interests and identified level of skills," he says.

"We're also in the process of building an employer module that will close the loop by getting community employers to self-identify their needs so we can match them with the interests and needs of our job seekers."

So far, says Seith, the WorkSearch is available at AARP offices in 80 communities and 22 states. For contact information, see the AARP WorkSearch directory.