Job & Career Accelerator™ Selected as Part of New Jersey State Library Recovery Project

NEW YORK, Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- LearningExpress, LLC—the leading provider of online resume creation and job search tools has partnered with the New Jersey State Library, affiliated with Thomas Edison State College, to provide the web resource Job & Career Accelerator™ to all New Jersey public libraries.  Funding for the agreement came from the federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of a statewide project, "New Jersey Libraries—Anchor Institutions As Instruments of Recovery." Job & Career Accelerator was selected to help achieve the project's goals—to provide NJ residents with comprehensive job search assistance, employment skill-building tools, and access to proven workforce development programs.  

More than 75% of NJ library directors say the top priority of their staff is to help job seekers, according to the NJ State Library BTOP project application.  As a result, Job & Career Accelerator has gained immediate acceptance from library professionals due to its proven ability to deliver results through its prescriptive learning path. Job & Career Accelerator helps librarians simplify the entire job search process, and provides patrons with systematic guidance and tools for conducting an effective, personalized employment search.  Moreover, this comes at a time when the library customers' demand for job search assistance is increasing.

Unemployment in New Jersey, during the current recession as defined by the US Bureau of Economic Research, has risen from 4.5% in 2007 to 9.6% in 2010—one of the toughest job markets in decades.  As a result of this initiative, all job-seeking residents of NJ will have free access to Job & Career Accelerator's tools through their local public libraries.

The NJ Library Anchors Institutions as Instruments of Recovery Project will provide and improve internet connectivity in public libraries.  In addition, the LearningExpress services, such as Job & Career Accelerator will enable libraries to create or improve workforce development and job training programs.  Thanks to the computers and internet access provided by the BTOP project initiatives and services that Job & Career Accelerator provides to these residents, NJ state library users can get back on their feet in this competitive job market.  

The over 434,600 unemployed and thousands of underemployed New Jersey job-seeking residents will have access to Job & Career Accelerator at no-cost through their local public libraries thanks to this federal grant.

"We are pleased to be able to work with the New Jersey State Library to provide essential workforce services and help serve the needs of millions of library customers looking to prepare themselves for success in their job search and careers, and ultimately in life," says Barry Lippman, president and CEO of LearningExpress, LLC.

Through the New Jersey agreement, more than 5 million State residents will have unlimited access to this wholly contained career system.  In addition to access to millions of active job and internship postings, the online resource also 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 from any computer within a NJ public library or from anywhere with an Internet connection by logging in with a valid NJ public library customer card.

The NJ agreement marks the fifth statewide contract awarded to LearningExpress, LLC joining previous similar partnerships with Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia, for its online career and job search solution, Job & Career Accelerator™.  Additionally, LearningExpress has 20 statewide agreements that include the LearningExpressLibrary platform for online assessment, test-preparation, and skill-building programs.

ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY STATE LIBRARY The New Jersey State Library has three bureaus: the Library Development Bureau (LDB), the NJ State Library Talking Book & Braille Center (TBBC) and the State Library Information Center (SLIC). The State Library connects people with information through its service to libraries, government and people with special needs. The State Library, affiliated with Thomas Edison State College, coordinates, promotes and funds the New Jersey Library Network, of which they are a proud member. Last year, attendance in New Jersey's public libraries was over 48 million with total circulation of almost 58 million, an increase of almost 2 million. The BTOP grant, provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Broadband Technology Opportunity Program, was the only award made to a New Jersey institution in round two of funding.

ABOUT LEARNINGEXPRESS, LLC Founded in 1995, LearningExpress is a leading e-learning technology company that provides career advancement and education solutions to thousands of colleges and libraries, currently helping more than one million students and adult learners annually to meet their professional and academic goals. The company offers comprehensive and fully integrated web-based platforms designed to help users assess, explore, find, prepare, pursue, and achieve their career endeavors.  Visit LearningExpress, LLC Job & Career Accelerator online at www.jobandcareeraccelerator.com.

SOURCE LearningExpress, LLC