A free smartphone app is now available for people who want to learn about potential careers in Pinal County and how to prepare for them.
Achieve Pinal’s Career Expo is a career exploration experience connecting to a variety of professionals from fields expected to play a major role in the county’s future economic development, including robotics, cybersecurity, education, public safety, agriculture, engineering, and utilities.
The app will help workers, students and employers find out about the career paths available now or in the future. It features video interviews with local professionals and other video content about highlighted careers and fields, current job openings, scholarship opportunities, college readiness tools, and other resources for various audiences.
The areas offered have been identified by Achieve Pinal, a project of the Pinal Alliance for Economic Growth focused on making Pinal County’s workforce more competitive through education, and ARIZONA@WORK, the state’s workforce development agency. The app’s development and updates are sponsored by Abbott Nutrition and Resolution Copper.
The app will be continually updated to reflect the changing landscape of the region’s economy as new employers and industry sectors come to the area and longtime businesses seek new workers and redefine their missions.
Jobs and the workplace are changing rapidly, and technological know-how is only going to become a bigger component of most jobs. About 35% of Pinal County’s adults ages 18 to 24 have had any education beyond high school, according to U.S. Census data, while about 65% of all jobs nationwide require at least some post-secondary training.
“The students in Pinal County are the future of our community, and we want to do whatever we can to make sure they have access to an innovative experience that builds career exploration, connects students to employers, and improves post-secondary attainment,” said Bryan Seppala, Resolution Copper economic and workforce development adviser.
Career Expo Committee Chairman Bob Jackson said the app is an especially important tool in this era.
“The pandemic has forced communities to adapt to alternate ways of learning, working, and meeting. Virtual learning, telework, and Zoom meetings have become the norm,” he said. “Achieve Pinal’s career exploration efforts also adapted to successfully reach our Pinal County audiences during the pandemic and into the future.”
To access the app, visit the App Store or Google Play and download Crowd Compass, then search for Achieve Pinal. The app can also be accessed via any browser at: http://event.crowdcompass.com/virtualcareerexpo.
