Beyond Occupational Information: Reimagining Career Information Systems for the AI Era

For more than fifty years I have worked to help people make better career decisions. During that time I have witnessed the evolution of career information from printed occupational handbooks, to computer-assisted guidance systems, to Internet-based career information systems, and now to artificial intelligence.

The U.S. Department of Labor's current initiative to modernize CareerOneStop and O*NET is both timely and important. However, I believe this is an opportunity to think beyond improving existing systems. We have an opportunity to rethink their very purpose.

The question should not be: How can we build a better occupational database? The question should be: How can we help people build meaningful lives while enabling employers and communities to discover, develop, and mobilize human potential more effectively? Those are fundamentally different objectives.

Career Information Has Reached an Inflection Point

For decades, career information systems have focused primarily on describing occupations. They have become increasingly comprehensive, accurate, and accessible. Users can search thousands of occupations, compare wages, review labor market trends, explore education pathways, and locate job openings.

These are valuable resources. But information alone rarely changes lives. Young people continue to leave school uncertain about their futures. Adults continue to struggle with career transitions. Employers continue to report talent shortages while capable people remain unemployed, underemployed, or disengaged. The challenge is no longer a lack of information. The challenge is helping people transform information into purposeful action.

The Purpose of Career Information Must Change

Traditional career guidance often begins by asking: "What occupation interests you?" I believe this is the wrong starting point. A better question is: "What problems in the world would you most like to help solve?" Purpose is more enduring than occupations. Occupations change. Technology changes. Industries rise and fall. But the desire to improve health, reduce poverty, protect the environment, educate children, build stronger communities, or advance scientific discovery often remains constant throughout life.

Career exploration should therefore begin with purpose before introducing occupations. People should first discover what matters deeply to them, then identify organizations whose missions align with those interests, explore the occupations within those organizations, and finally determine the most effective learning pathways. This is the philosophy behind my Career Callings initiative.

From Information Systems to Career Navigation Systems

The next generation of federal career resources should function less like libraries and more like intelligent navigation systems. Rather than simply presenting information, they should help users:

• imagine possible futures;

• discover their strengths and motivations;

• identify organizations making a difference;

• compare learning pathways;

• recognize transferable skills;

• connect with mentors and employers;

• develop realistic action plans; and

• build confidence through small, achievable steps.

Artificial intelligence makes this possible in ways unimaginable only a few years ago.

AI Should Amplify Human Potential

Artificial intelligence should not replace career practitioners. It should strengthen them.

AI can rapidly analyze labor market information, compare occupations, explain training pathways, identify emerging opportunities, prepare resumes, draft networking messages, suggest questions for informational interviews, and help individuals organize complex decisions. Career practitioners contribute something equally essential.

• They inspire.

• They challenge.

• They encourage.

• They help people imagine futures they had never considered.

The most effective career systems will combine AI with skilled human guidance rather than treating them as alternatives.

Career Agency Matters More Than Career Choice

The most valuable outcome of career development is not choosing the right occupation.

It is developing the capacity to navigate change throughout life. Career agency includes curiosity, adaptability, resilience, opportunity recognition, lifelong learning, decision-making, and confidence. These competencies will become increasingly important as artificial intelligence transforms occupations and industries. The future belongs not to those who make one perfect career choice, but to those who continually learn, adapt, and contribute.

Measuring Success Differently

Career information systems should no longer be evaluated primarily by website traffic or occupational searches. They should be evaluated by whether users take meaningful action.

Success should include outcomes such as:

• contacting employers;

• participating in workplace visits;

• enrolling in education or training;

• obtaining mentors;

• volunteering;

• securing work experience;

• beginning apprenticeships;

• launching businesses;

• making successful career transitions; and

• finding work that provides purpose as well as income.

Career development succeeds when people move from exploration to action.

A National Investment in Human Potential

Roads move goods. Electrical grids move energy. The Internet moves information. Career development moves human potential. Modern economies invest billions in physical infrastructure because it enables every other sector to function effectively. Career development deserves similar consideration. It is the infrastructure that helps individuals discover, develop, and apply their talents in ways that benefit themselves, employers, communities, and nations.

A Call to Leadership

The modernization of CareerOneStop and O*NET represents far more than a technology project. It is an opportunity to redefine how governments help citizens prepare for lives of contribution, resilience, and purpose. Information remains essential. But information alone is no longer enough. The next generation of career systems must help people answer three enduring questions:

• Who am I becoming?

• How can I contribute?

• What should I do next?

If we design systems to answer those questions, we will do far more than modernize career information. We will help build societies that discover, develop, and mobilize the full potential of their people.

Phillip S. Jarvis

Career Development Innovator

Creator or Co-Developer of CHOICES, The Real Game Series, Canada WorkinfoNET, the Canada Career Information Partnership, the Blueprint for Life/Work Designs, and Career Callings