North Carolina's Occupational Information Coordinating Committee is working with the Bridges Initiatives to pilot the company's award-winning online career development service. The state will establish 50 test sites to assess product enhancements to the service, and recommend ways of customizing it to meet the needs of North Carolina's career planners.

The first pilot, scheduled for September, will establish meaningful norms for Bridges' new psychological profiling system. The pilot tests will also utilize a new student "locker" portfolio system. Both features are expected to be available to all U.S. students in the new year.

"It's a prime example of government and private industry collaboration," says Doug Manning, CEO, Bridges. "The economic benefit to North Carolina includes a discount off Bridges' regular site license price. But more importantly, the state will have direct input in the ongoing development of the service and future Bridges products."

"We're very excited about the pilot," says Nancy MacCormac, Executive Director, North Carolina SOICC. "We're hoping to get as good a response from the schools involved in this year-long Bridges pilot as we received from the five schools involved in the NOACC pilot completed early this year."

The North Carolina State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee attends to the occupational information needs of vocational education and employment and training program planners and policy makers, and to the career development needs of youth and adults.

Bridges publishes a career profile library as a daily, online magazine. It also features LMI information, self-directed career training opportunities, online "guest speakers", lesson plans, and other support materials for educators.