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JobScout Teaches Internet Skills for Job-Seekers

by Josh Bradley
With 1-in-5 Californians lacking the necessary Internet skills needed to find a job in today’s marketplace, JobScout, the online social media platform designed to get Californians back to work, teaches necessary Internet skills and job-hunting techniques. It uses social gaming design to engage users in self-paced, online activities that focus on Internet competencies. Users master these skills to apply online for jobs, and use JobScout’s social network to collaborate with each other on and offline.
jobscout_unemplymnt_rls_4.2012_1.pdf_600_.jpg
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Josh Bradley
bradley [at] realpolitech.com
Stephanie Margossian
margossian [at] realpolitech.com


NEW UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS REAFFIRM THE NEED FOR INTERNET SAVVY JOB HUNTERS
For Californians to Return to the Workplace in a Competitive Climate,
Digital Literacy and Internet Proficiency Is Vital to Stand Out

San Francisco, Calif. (April 18, 2012) – As California unemployment numbers teeter around 11% of the state’s population, with nearly 19,000 additional people losing their job in March 2012*, educating Californians in Internet proficiency is becoming increasingly critical. JobScout, the online social media platform designed to get Californians back to work through teaching digital literacy skills and job-hunting techniques through social gaming, is expanding
to meet the growing needs of the unemployed and reaching out into the hardest hit areas.

With 1-in-5 Californians lacking the necessary Inernet skills needed to find a job in today’s marketplace, JobScout, uses game design, to teach basic digital literacy skills by engaging users in self-paced online activities that focus on Internet competencies, mastering these skills to apply online for employment and allowing users to network with each other on and offline.

“The feedback and participation we received has been tremendous in continuing to shape the face of JobScout,” said Christina Gagnier, JobScout’s founder and CEO. “We’ve been working to evaluate and implement the most necessary and useful tools needed by job-seekers.”

Boasting a custom resume builder and built-in job search function, JobScout users can earn badges for completing lessons on everything from Internet browsers, to how to create social network profiles and use them to the fullest.

“As tech-savvy as California is, it’s a wake up call that so many people are without the proper skills and tools to integrate themselves into today’s competative job market,” said Gagnier. “JobScout continues to evolve with more involved features, simpler asthetics and easy-to-use applications.

Beginning in the second quarter of 2012, JobScout will be adding new library jurisdictions to its repertoire of participating locations including the Santa Clara, Imperial County and Sacramento County library systems. After launching in December 2011 with four jurisdictions, the San Jose Public Library, Yolo County Library, Santa Cruz Public Library and County of Los Angeles Public Library, the new additions will make seven total participating locations within the first year of its creation.

In February of 2012, JobScout was selected as a finalist in the HASTAC Digital Media and Learning Competition, which was supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to the University of California, in collaboration with Duke University. The awards sought to find the most innovative uses of new media and digital technologies that support connected learning, changing the way people learn and participate in daily life.

About JobScout
JobScout is the first in a series of online learning tools based on the Technology Resources and Internet Learning (TRAIL) technology, which is designed to teach fundamental digital literacy skills and help people apply them to aspects of their work, education, civic involvement and health. JobScout uses game design to teach and reinforce basic digital literacy skills particularly for those populations traditionally disenfranchised by the digital divide by 1) engaging users in self-paced online activities that focus on digital literacy competencies, 2) assisting users in mastering these skills in order to apply online for a job and 3) enabling users to network on and offline. http://www.myjobscout.org

About REALPOLITECH
REALPOLITECH is a digital public relations and web strategy consultancy. The firm focuses on the development of customizable, interactive campaigns and websites for dynamic public and private sector projects. Through web development and real-time and social digital public relations solutions, REALPOLITECH recruits participants, creating the most valuable asset for any business or cause: digital citizens. http://www.realpolitech.com

About the California State Library
The California State Library advises, consults with, and provides technical assistance to California’s public libraries. It directs state and federal funds to support local public libraries and statewide library programs, and services. http://www.library.ca.gov/

About the Link Americas Foundation
The LINK AMERICAS Foundation fosters collaborative initiatives demonstrating the value of Technology Serving Humanity in the areas of Life, Information, Nature, Knowledge (LINK). The foundation supports educational, environmental and social development, and research projects that further LINK objectives by promoting strategic alliances for systemic and sustained change.
http://www.linkamericas.org/

*State of California Employment Development Department Labor Market Information, 2012;
http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/

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