For decades, the system has remained largely the same; young adults who have just graduated high school go off to pursue further learning in college, with the idea that a degree will help to secure them a more reliable long-term job. However, as the world of labor has evolved substantially over the course of the past several years, this mentality has become woefully outdated. With new tools like artificial intelligence (AI) serving to revolutionize the workplace and how many businesses function, there is now a severe disconnect between what students are taught and how these industries actually work. Fortunately, Bridge-it is striving to rectify these issues.
Bridge-it is addressing the critical disconnect between what students are taught in school and the skills employers actually need by using AI to provide personalized, empowering career planning tools starting in high school.
Traditional education systems have not kept pace with labor market needs, especially in the skilled trades and non-college pathways. Bridge-it provides real-time data on job markets, helps students build adaptable skillsets, and creates step-by-step career plans aligned with lifestyle and income goals. Through these processes, the platform aims to provide the much-needed link to make the education-to-employment pipeline function properly once more.
Putting Power in Students' Hands
Students, especially those without strong support networks, are left to navigate the disconnected landscape of finding career opportunities, structuring their course load, volunteer activities, and skills development to match their chosen path. They must also identify and apply to educational options after high school, such as apprenticeships, CTE programs, two- and four-year colleges, and various forms of financial aid. Additionally, they need to manage their academic workload and ensure their GPA aligns with their future educational goals.
Bridge-it offers an engaging and fun platform to explore all career opportunities, including both college and non-college pathways. The platform helps students identify career sectors of interest, understand the associated skills, earning potential, and growth opportunities. It also provides a customizable cost-of-living calculator to ensure students pursue careers that support their lifestyle goals.
Once a student selects their pathway, Bridge-it creates a detailed plan for their four years of high school, ensuring they meet deadlines and connecting them with resources for academic support, college and career application help, financial aid, and opportunities to develop relevant skills and experience. The platform empowers students by enabling them to take full ownership of their progress, rather than simply directing their futures.
Simplified Planning, Better Results
The platform also helps overworked school counselors by making student progress tracking and intervention easier. By enabling students to complete 90% of their postsecondary plan on their own through the platform, counselors can spend more time providing targeted guidance to refine each student's plan.
Through Bridge-it, counselors can handle large caseloads by identifying students who haven't completed a plan or are falling behind, enabling them to intervene earlier and more effectively. Counselors can also send messages, resources, or recommendations to individual students or groups based on their pathways.
Charting a More Effective Path
Students hear the narrative that careers are vanishing and the ROI on a college degree is uncertain. However, employers increasingly complain that there is a shortage of qualified candidates for positions they struggle to fill. There is a disconnect between education and employment, and schools are not doing enough to prepare students to develop relevant skills for the workforce.
The Bridge-it team's vision is for the platform to become the primary resource for all students as they prepare for their careers, starting in middle school and continuing through college, employment, and beyond. The goal is for Bridge-it to eventually be the top resource for anyone looking to upskill, change careers, relocate, or return to school.
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