The new Workforce Education and Career Assistance Network For You (WECAN4U) website, was introduced to the public in May 2001. It was created and designed to be a pathway to workforce and economic resources by Specialists Rosalie M. Lane of UANNP/ACES, and Ray Ali of the Department of Land-Grant Programs at West Virginia State College.
So often we hear that workforce preparation and computer knowledge are essential ingredients to increase employment opportunities. It is indeed the right time for all Americans to go "online" as new data suggests that the "overall level of U.S. digital inclusion is rapidly increasing." [Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion, October 2000, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration.] Internet usage is up by 35.8 percent from 32.7 percent in December 1998 to 44.4 percent in August 2000. This remarkable upswing in usage transcends many socioeconomic levels, as well as cultural-ethnic ties. August 2000 data shows that low-income users were more likely to use the Internet to look for jobs than any other income group. Black Americans are now more than twice as likely to have computers at home, increasing from 11.2 percent to 23.5 percent, while Hispanics increased 12.6 percent to 23.6 percent in the same instance (U.S. Department of Commerce).
The WECAN4U website is designed to provide a pathway to Internet resources in employment preparation and development (including areas in starting a business, money management, economic development, education and training, etc.) A training manual is available for agents to use as a supplement to workforce and limited economic training material.
WECAN4U's other outstanding features are it's easy accessibility and the quantity of employment resources available through the Internet. The site is simply designed to allow the novice computer user to navigate easily. By typing in the uniform resource locator or Web site address: www.wecan4u.net and double clicking, the user goes directly to the site. That's all there is to it! The intimidated computer user has little reason to fear using the technology when there is important workforce information to access.
How does the site work? WECAN4U is made up of important employment connections that are laid out along a pathway to strategically link opportunities in employment, training, economic development, etc. It connects to ccurrent economic and workforce statistics on the local, state and national level. The user is presented with many educational and training avenues such as two- and four-year colleges, and training and certification programs. Some sites offer links to information on starting a business, while another site offers a comprehensive approach to financial resource management.
If the professional wants to know what other states are doing with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), that information is available simply by double clicking on the map of the United States in that section. The WIA legislation of 1998 is also included. How can www.wecan4u.net work for you? Take the employment section feature, for example. If you live in Alabama, the website offers access to virtually endless amounts of employment information in every county of the state, including state jobs, jobs in urban counties, and any national, federal or international jobs that are posted on the Internet. If you work long enough, you might be able to find any job within the state.
The site is a direct but non-exhaustive gateway to aid Internet searches for employment training, education, and other workforce relate information in West Virginia, Alabama and the nation. It puts workforce, business, education, and economic and financial information at the fingertips of Alabama & West Virginia residents.