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= Next Steps Idaho = Next Steps Idaho is a free research tool that helps Idahoans transition to post-secondary opportunities and fulfilling employment.

Built by the Idaho State Board of Education (Idaho SBE), Next Steps Idaho is made stronger through the cooperation and shared vision of dozens of other state and private agencies—including the Idaho Workforce Development Council, Idaho State Department of Education, and the Idaho Division for Career Technical Education. It promotes all continuing education pathways including college, university, apprenticeships, professional certification, licensing, and vocational training.

Origins
The Next Steps Idaho website was initially built in 2015 as part of a College Access Challenge Grant awarded to the state by the United States Department of Education. Its purpose was to encourage students in grades 8–12 to plan for post-secondary education options.

Integration of the Idaho Career Information System
Established in 1980, the Idaho Career Information System (Idaho CIS) was a program within the Idaho Department of Labor intended to support Idahoans in the college and career decision making process. During the 2018 legislative session, House Bill 432 repealed Idaho Code § 72-1345A, removing reference to the Idaho Career Information 2 System Program (Idaho CIS). At the same time, House Bill 672 included a line-item appropriation for Idaho CIS within the Idaho SBE’s FY2019 budget. Passage of these two bills moved Idaho CIS from the Idaho Department of Labor to the executive agency of the Idaho SBE, the Office of the Idaho State Board Education (OSBE). This move brought Idaho CIS and Next Steps Idaho together under the purview of one agency, but it created two separate web resources to maintain.

Upon evaluation it was determined that integrating Idaho CIS into Next Steps Idaho would afford the Idaho SBE greater ability to update and add new career planning tools into perpetuity.

Expansion
In 2017 the Workforce Development Taskforce, created by the Idaho Office of the Governor, recommended building on the success of the then existing Next Steps Idaho website to address the needs of the adult population in Idaho. Groups to be served included young adults that did not continue onto postsecondary education, unemployed workers, transitioning adults that were looking for a change or advancement in their career, and subgroups that were rejoining the workforce after military service, incarceration or other absence.

Starting in 2019, the Idaho SBE and the Idaho Workforce Development Council (Idaho WDC) began collaborating to deliver an expanded Next Steps Idaho website that would function as a clearinghouse for the most timely and accurate information, tools, and resources. An expanded Next Steps Idaho launched in 2020 with tools for students, working adults, families, educators and others who play a supportive role for those seeking jobs, careers, and training or education in Idaho.

The Idaho WDC continues to place high strategic value and significant resources within this space. The group provides advisory support and outreach dollars from the Workforce Development Training Fund to Next Steps Idaho as part of its goal to connect all Idahoans to career information throughout their lives.

Purpose
Next Steps Idaho builds career-readiness confidence in three ways:


 * 1) Next Steps Idaho identifies visitors' skills and interests.
 * 2) Next Steps Idaho educates citizens about the many continuing education and career options available.
 * 3) Next Steps Idaho invites action towards a goal.

Programs
The following programs and products are facilitated through Next Steps Idaho on behalf of the Idaho State Board of Education.

Tools
The following interactive tools are the backbone of Next Steps Idaho.

Challenges
The Idaho high school graduation rate is 80%, on average. In 2021, 37% of those graduates enrolled in college, with roughly 4.3% of those students pursuing non-degree professional training. In a population of 1.6 million, only 24.6% of Idahoans hold a college degree.

The Idaho Department of Labor has identified long-term demographic challenges for in-state employers. Thousands of skilled workers are retiring from the careers they have invested a lifetime in and there are not enough youth to replace them. Put another way, "while the number of 16-year-olds grew 18%, (+3,970), between 2000 and 2019, the number of 65-year-olds grew 146% (+12,930)," according to Census Bureau statistics.