FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Bob Jacques, O*NET
Maher & Maher
3535 Route 66, Bldg. 4
Neptune, NJ 07753
Telephone: 1-888-90MAHER
E-mail: info@mahernet.com
www.onetknowledgesite.com

Nation's Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Announces FREE Live Online Training and Redesigned Knowledge Site

LITTLE SILVER, NJ -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 08/01/2002 -- The Nation's Occupational Information Network (O*NET) announced today the release of the newly redesigned O*NET Knowledge Site, the only online community dedicated to meeting the O*NET educational needs of employers, educators, job seekers, and workforce development professionals.

The redesigned site features a rich variety of new resources, including O*NET information, training guides, and networking channels. For example, professionals will have the opportunity to e-mail questions to industry experts for answers, and the site’s E-Forums will allow an exchange of information and opinions between O*NET users. Visit the new site or register for e-mail updates at www.onetknowledgesite.com.

O*NET is an online database and a common language that provides detailed occupational information including skills, knowledge, abilities, work content, and the context in which work is done. O*NET is a resource for accessing occupational information to help make informed employment decisions.

In conjunction with O*NET Academy, O*NET’s online learning portal, the new site will also offer professionals the opportunity to receive FREE online training from any computer with an Internet connection. This will be made possible through the site’s Webinars: one-hour, intensive, quick-hit training sessions covering a wide variety of high-interest O*NET-related topics. These Webinars will allow people to receive training at their convenience, and reduce the need for travel to seminars. Learn more about or register for O*NET Webinars by visiting www.onetacademy.com/live_training.cfm.

The redesigned O*NET Knowledge Site and O*NET Academy together form a comprehensive eLearning source dedicated to providing O*NET users with the latest O*NET tools, knowledge, and training. O*NET is a unique, powerful, online database for continually updated occupational information and labor market research.

O*NET Academy’s Webinars and newly designed Knowledge Site promise to be extremely helpful to the workforce development community.

Said one Workforce Development Council member, "I just wanted to let you know I have been telling everyone what a fantastic tool this is and the potential it has. I gained further understanding of the O*NET system and will be able to use it even more effectively."

The National O*NET Consortium is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration to further the development, dissemination and improvement of O*NET. The Consortium is led by a Management Partnership composed of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, the Employment and Training Administration, and CESER, the Center for Employment Security Education and Research. Mary Sue Vickers, one of the O*NET Managing Partners, said today, “We are particularly excited about bringing professional development opportunities on the power of O*NET information right to individuals’ desktops.”

O*NET Knowledge Site and O*NET Academy are designed and delivered by Maher & Maher, a specialized management and workforce development consulting firm based in Little Silver, NJ. Maher & Maher has delivered classroom-based training and online universities for a variety of major public and private sector clients. They have been providing training in support of O*NET users throughout the United States.

For additional information on the O*NET Knowledge Site, O*NET Academy, and the free live Webinars, contact us through email at onetteam@mahernet.com or visit the new site at www.onetknowledgesite.com.