Golden Path Solutions Newsletter – April 2025

by | Apr 4, 2025 | Blog, News | 0 comments

Detroit Lakes Economic Summit

It’s hard to believe it’s spring already!

Better weather is on its way, and so is the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Schools are prepping for their year-end events and activities, students are lining up their summer plans, and at Golden Path, we continue to look for new ways to connect communities and grow opportunities.

Here’s what else is new in the April newsletter:

Partnering with Grand Forks schools on advanced WBL management

Thanks to a partnership with Grand Forks (ND) Public Schools, all North Dakota schools now have the option to use advanced WBL management in Compass.

These advanced features include the ability to manage and electronically sign work agreements for both students and employers, a more customized and industry-specific reflection process for students, and in-depth reporting and navigation for WBL experiences. While they’ve been available to schools outside of North Dakota, we hadn’t yet adapted them for use within the state’s RUReady.ND.gov system.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and funding provided by GFPS, the functionality is an option for all of North Dakota through the Compass Console, accessed through RUReady.ND.gov. We’re grateful to GFPS team members Eric Ripley, Cara Davis, Paul Zettler, and Angela Beardemphl, as well as North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education (NDCTE) and XAP for helping make this possible.

There is a small fee for the use of these advanced WBL functions in Compass. Please contact Patrick Mineer at Golden Path if your school would like to get started.

New features available in Compass

We’ve been working diligently on expanding Compass’ functionality for our schools, particularly for work-based learning (WBL) processes. During the last month, we’ve made numerous updates to Compass, with more on the way.

These features are now available:

  • Schools can create an employer’s account on their behalf and invite the employer user to the account to manage.
  • Schools can now publish events (such as career fairs and requests for speaking engagements) to employers and send email notifications.
  • Employers can now share their Compass company profiles and Career Profiles with URLs that don’t require a Compass login. This is a great way for employers to reach schools and students who are not yet using Compass.
  • Students are now matched to employers in Compass, not just specific Career Profiles belonging to those employers. This broadens connection opportunities for both students and businesses, though we still encourage the use of Career Profiles.
  • We’ve updated the student consent process, allowing Golden Path to contact students to personally connect them with employers and opportunities. We’re also sending reminder emails to guardians who still need to provide their consent.
  • Holland Codes can be imported from another system to help with the career matching process if a school or student isn’t yet using the student Compass profile.
  • Reporting for North Dakota’s Choice Ready system is available within the Compass Console.
  • Employer-related agreements can now be managed within the WBL management process in Compass.
  • Finally, all North Dakota school professionals have access to all Career Profiles and the new Compass lesson plans in Compass Console.

Watch for an upcoming redesign of our Career Profiles for students to make them more engaging. We’re also working on improvements for how employers select which high schools, colleges, or communities to share their opportunities with.

Upcoming trainings scheduled for schools and employers

Golden Path will be leading or participating in several upcoming training opportunities for school professionals or employers.

NDCTE, along with Golden Path, will be hosting a series of trainings across the state for school professionals. These trainings will be held April 23 in Grand Forks, April 24 in Fargo, May 1 in Minot, May 6 in Dickinson, and May 8 in Bismarck. The updated format includes a greater focus on employers and how they partner with schools, including tours and visits with employer representatives. Register online.

We will be hosting a series of virtual training sessions on work-based learning for employers in partnership with the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce in Fargo. The webinars will be conveniently held during lunch hours May 7, 19, and 15. Watch your email and socials for additional details and registration information soon.

Employers are also invited to attend our monthly Compass Overview and Onboarding virtual sessions. These free sessions give employers a chance to better understand Compass, how to create their accounts, ask questions, and provide feedback. Register online.

Detroit Lakes Economic Summit a success

More than 250 people attended the Detroit Lakes (MN) Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Summit last month in Detroit Lakes. Titled “The Power of Partnerships: Shaping Tomorrow Together,” the summit featured keynote speaker Neel Kashkari, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, MN.

The event also included presentations by Derek Grahn, operations manager at Golden Path; Josh Omang, principal of Detroit Lakes High School (DLHS); and Vern Schnathorst, WBL coordinator at DLHS. They highlighted their combined outreach to regional employers and how Compass is supporting that work.

Congrats to Chamber President Jackie Buboltz and her team for a great event!

Welcoming new organizations, partnerships, and programs

Many new organizations have joined our Golden Path community in the past month. We’re excited to welcome Basin Electric Power Cooperative in Bismarck, ND; PS Industries, Cullen Insulation, and Applebee’s, all in Grand Forks; Boys & Girls Clubs of Detroit Lakes (MN) and Perham (MN); Tiger Well Service in Watford City, ND; Farmers Union Oil Co. of Kenmare, ND; Pembina County Memorial Hospital in Cavalier, ND; Laura Glanner Massage and Rock’s Electric Construction in Grafton, ND; Gerszewski Farms, near Grafton. We’re excited to have you on board!

These employers renewed their memberships with Golden Path: Acme Tools, Bobcat, Butler Machinery, Executive Air Taxi Corporation, Wallwork Truck Center, all in Fargo; Gooseneck Implement in Minot, ND; Leon’s Building Center in Devils Lake, ND; and Leister Custom Machining in Hawley, MN. Thanks for partnering with us!

We’re excited to launch Lynnes Welding Training of Fargo as a postsecondary option in Compass.

Finally, we’ve started working with employers through our partnership with the Bakken Area Skills Center (BASC) in Watford City, and exploring how we can add the Williston (ND) Basin Career & Technical Education Center to that offering.

Employers encouraged to participate in national survey

We’d like to encourage our employer partners to participate in a National Skills Coalition (NCS) and Business Leaders United survey. They are inviting North Dakota companies with fewer than 5,000 employees to support their study of small- and mid-sized business recruiting practices.

The study’s purpose is to explore how businesses gather information about workers’ skills and the impact of public policies on workforce development and education specific to this information gathering. NSC is interested in candidate skills assessment, especially practices like credential review, test administration, and competency demonstration.

Participating in the study involves an informal, 30-minute conversation with NSC study leaders prior to the end of May. The participants and companies will not be identified in the report.

You can learn more online or contact NSC to schedule your study.

Important dates

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More information

Contact Patrick for more information or to connect about opportunities with Golden Path Solutions.