A new on-line service offered by the National Association of Secondary School Principals will link students and graduates in search of jobs with potential employers.
SCRIBE, or School and College Records on the Internet for Better Employment, will allow high school and college students to post a record of their education and work experience on a World Wide Web site. Employers seeking full- or part-time workers will be able to post job listings and monitor the site for candidates.
“The idea is exciting,” said George W. Elford, a senior consultant with the Reston, Va.-based NASSP who helped design the service. “The process is simple, and [businesses and students] don’t have to do very much to get started.”
No one has signed up for the program yet, but the NASSP in the process of sending letters about it to every high school in the country as well as to private-industry councils, chambers of commerce, business organizations, and colleges.
Fees Required
Students must pay a $10 fee to post their “employer friendly” transcripts, which will include a summary of academic performance and work experience. The transcripts also include a section for commendations and honors, all of which can be updated as a student moves on to postsecondary education and work. Identification numbers, electronic “firewalls,” and passwords will safeguard the personal information that students supply for their records.
The NASSP also asks that students include results from the ACT Inc.'s Work Keys assessment, a skills test designed to help employers identify qualified applicants. Work Keys testing is available across the country and costs $9.60 per test. The NASSP will encourage schools to provide waivers for students who cannot afford the fees.
Students will also be able to access jobs posted on the SCRIBE network. Job positions on the network will likely range initially from summer work to part-time positions, Mr. Elford said.
“Once this is established, the level of work [offered] will go up,” he predicted.
High schools and colleges can join the service at no cost to help their students compile or update their records. The system will also enable the schools and colleges to use the service at no cost to alert students to scholarships.
Companies that are part of a business or trade association that has signed on with the network can participate without paying a sign-up fee. Unaffiliated companies can sign up for $25.
“I think this has enormous potential,” said Suzie Ahlstrand, the executive director of a group in the Wichita, Kan., area chamber of commerce known as the Business Education Success Team. She has been working with her local school district and business groups to get them to join the network.
“It is a chance to create a common link between business and education,” Ms. Ahlstrand said.
