How can parents help their children find the right career path? Fort Hays State University professor of sociology Judy Caprez offered a plethora of good ideas and sources of help in a series of columns in March and April. I would like to add a 10th to Judy's list by offering information from one more resource: the Kansas Career Pipeline.

Two-thirds of Kansas public schools are signed on to utilize this new tool, which offers students the opportunity, through a multitude of learning activities, to identify, define, research and pursue their career path, starting in fifth grade. More than 29,000 students already have begun exploring careers through the pipeline.

The pipeline was the brainchild of Andy Solter, working with partners in education, business, commerce and economic development, and launched last year with a Web site, www.careerpipeline.org, offering students the chance to take a well-respected interest inventory that educators would recognize as the Kuder assessment. The interest inventory identifies possible career paths. What are your interests? What are your strengths? School should be more than working on skills. School should be about identifying what you're good at and where your interests lie and pursuing related occupations through a series of age-appropriate career-development activities. That's what the good teachers do: figure out a way to weave it into the classroom and around all the other educational requirements, which is a feat in itself!

Another thing the Kansas Career Pipeline does is connect students with Kansas companies in their area that hire individuals in their identified careers. It's a pipeline that leads students to projects, tours, shadowing, mentor relationships, summer jobs and internships with companies that could eventually hire or provide scholarships students for more education. Doesn't that make sense?

The Kansas Career Pipeline is in the process of offering subscriptions to businesses to feature their company or industry on the Web site. Business owners, managers, HR professionals, are you listening? Here is a pipeline of potential workers and immediately employable adults that you can connect with! What are you waiting for? Do you have a video clip of what it's like to work in your company? Once a company has subscribed to the pipeline, the Web site can accommodate that and a link to your company Web site.

With the shortage of workers, pending retirements, etc., I would think this would be an opportunity to proactively solve a labor issue down the pike. Groom prospects. Engage interested students.

Get on board to put a cork in the northwest Kansas brain drain! Employers, get with the program or stop whining that you can't find good workers. Here they are!

Another link for students, as they research careers in certain fields, is a list of Kansas educational programs where they can study their identified career. Many options include short certificate programs, earn-and-learn apprenticeship arrangements to full-blown multi-year degrees. By the time students are seniors, they've mapped out individual career paths and identified a Kansas training program on their way to success. And most importantly, students and their parents can save money, confusion, stress and that drop-out dilemma due to lack of career direction.

And finally, parents and others, ask yourselves if you are dissatisfied with your job? Would you rather have a different career? Is there something you've always had a desire to do? The pipeline is for you, too. The adult career exploration option became available in January. Do you know what's out there? Is there a better alternative? With a little more training, could you be doing something you loved rather than just a job?

You can get linked up by going to www.kansascareerpipeline.org, clicking on "Job Seekers" and completing the questionnaires, or you can go to your nearest KansasWorks Center in Hays or Colby to get help. Make it happen for your student, for yourself. Now, what about those of you who are bored in retirement?

Susan Nickerson is director of the Kansas Department of Commerce's western region.