Golden Path Solutions Newsletter – May 2025

by | May 8, 2025 | Blog, News | 0 comments

BASC

Happy May!

This is always an exciting and hectic time for our school partners and students as they wrap up the school year and make plans for the summer. At Golden Path, we’re busy welcoming new employers to the community, making exciting updates to Compass, and fostering new partnerships with organizations across the region.

Some of these collaborations include the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce in Fargo for our work-based learning webinar series, Lynnes Welding Training in Fargo, Bismarck (ND) State College, the Bakken Area Skills Center in Watford City, ND, and the Williston (ND) Basin Career & Technical Education Center.

We are so thankful to work with such amazing professionals while helping drive innovation within workforce development. We’re all working together to help schools, students, employers, colleges, and communities build for the future.

Here’s what else is new in the Golden Path May newsletter:

CTE center partnerships launched

We’re proud to announce our partnerships with the Bakken Area Skills Center (BASC) in Watford City, ND, and the Williston (ND) Basin Career & Technical Education (WBCTE) Center. By becoming sustaining partners for either or both of the centers, employers also receive Golden Path Solutions employer memberships. The financial partnership will enable employers across Northwestern North Dakota to help students find successful careers while expanding their organizations’ exposure, influence, and connections with students regionally and statewide. We hope this type of partnership extends to other CTE centers across the region, helping support local facilities and students while also helping employers connect with schools and students to help build their future workforce.

A big focus of this initial push will be on energy opportunities in oil and gas, and we’re excited to have the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s (NDPC) support. Read the press release for perspectives from NDPC President Ron Ness, BASC Director Dr. Wayne Heckaman, and WBCTE Center Director Kenzi Brown.

Thank you to the following newspapers for their media coverage of the new partnerships:

Still time to register for work-based learning webinar

It’s not too late for employers to register for the last of three work-based learning webinars we are hosting with the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce and FARMS.

“Session 3: A deep dive on work-based learning for construction and ag industries” will be held at noon, Thursday, May 15, via Teams. Register

The session is part of a series designed to provide employers with practical guidance on how to start a WBL program at their company to connect with high school and college students and build their future workforce.

Session 3 explores how WBL works for the construction and ag industries. We will discuss what students can and can’t do in North Dakota and Minnesota, specific OSHA considerations, insurance requirements, and WBL best practices. Hear from a few employers about their success stories and explore how to leverage programs to drive student interest in these specific industries. Guest speakers include: Bryce Johnson, CEO of the Builders Industry Association in Fargo, and Jane Vangsness Frisch on behalf of FARMS.

Register for Session 3.

Moorhead Area Public Schools to join Compass

Moorhead Area Public Schools will be joining Compass this fall. They have used some of Compass’ administrative tools but will now complete a broader rollout with students, including managing students’ plans of study. We continue to strive for employers to have an easy way to connect with schools and students regardless of state borders. We look forward to adding more Minnesota schools to our system and exploring how we can work with other states.

New Career Profiles available in Compass soon

Several new Career Profiles are in development and will be released in Compass soon. These include Executive Air Taxi Corporation’s Avionics Technician, ACME Tools’ Marketing Specialist, Butler’s Sales Specialist, and Wallwork Truck Center’s Truck Body Technician. We are also creating new Career Profiles in HVAC roles for H.A. Thompson & Sons in Bismarck, our first employer to take advantage of the BASC partnership, as well as technology-focused profiles in AI, cybersecurity, and quantum computing for Stem Practice in Texas. We hope to have many new opportunities for students to see when they come back in the fall!

Employers encouraged to update Compass

Over the summer, we encourage employers to prepare for fall student engagement in Compass by updating their company profile, Career Profiles, work-based learning experiences, and more. Here are a few recommendations:

  1. We recently shared news about our new Career Profile design. While there’s no requirement to update your Career Profiles, adding more information, photos, and videos can help make your profile more interesting. Reach out to us for any help. If you’re renewing your membership, we’ll help you with this process.
  2. Consider adding new work-based learning opportunities for students to see in the fall. Watch a replay of recent WBL webinars with the FMWF Chamber. Remember, you can now share opportunities with college students. We’ll be working with Bismarck State College to make sure there are a lot of opportunities for college students for the fall.
  3. If you want to start developing a school outreach strategy, consider upgrading or taking advantage of one of our advanced memberships. Summer is a perfect time to develop your strategy and create new Career Profiles.

New features available in Compass

We continue to regularly add features to Compass, improving its functionality for all our users. These are some of the updates currently made for North Dakota school professionals, who use Compass via RUReady.ND.gov:

  • Publish events to employers – Schools can now share their career fairs, advisory boards, industry days, or other events with employers. They can choose employers based on ZIP code, industry, career cluster, or name.
  • Create an employer account on their behalf – Schools can now start an employer account in Compass to initiate partnerships for work-based learning or other opportunities. The employer is then invited to manage the account. to manage it.
  • Access all employer Career Profiles and lesson plans related to Compass and Holland Codes – Teachers now have access to lesson plans, with more planned for a future release.
  • Opt-in to advanced work-based learning functionality, including electronic document management and signatures – Thanks to a partnership with Grand Forks Public Schools, schools can now choose to use more advanced WBL features, namely the ability to manage training agreements electronically and capture signatures online. There is a small fee per year for this feature.
  • Students can match with an employer versus just opportunities – If a student is a match for a Career Profile, an event, or a WBL opportunity, that employer will also be highlighted for the student.

Remember that Career Profiles and employer profiles can now be shared with URLs that don’t require a Compass account. These URLs make it easy to share opportunities or employers with everyone from students and teachers to community members and colleges.

Compass helps students clarify their futures

Remember that Compass helps students who are unsure of their future plans, as well as students who know exactly what they want to do. Some of our users are unsure what a good career match is for them. Compass helps them reflect on their skills and interests, learn about careers they might be good at, and discover employers looking for those skills.

Compass also supports students who have established career plans and are seeking employers who offer those careers. They want to compare employers, ask about Sponsorships and Placements, participate in work-based learning to gain experience, and start building a professional relationship.

To all of our student users, we want Compass to foster connections with employers, careers, college programs, and opportunities that help you reach a career path that’s right for you!

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More information

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