May 18, 2000 News Release
newswire.ca
Bridges.com Announces Expanded Business Venture Planning for 2001
KELOWNA, BC, May 18 /CNW/ - More than 200 people were on hand Wednesday afternoon as Bridges.com Inc. (TSE:BIT) announced a new corporate focus. While it continues to add to its strong position in the school marketplace, the company will now also turn its attention to individuals in career transition across North America. That includes more than three million high school grads every year.
Mr. Doug Manning, Bridges.com's President and CEO, made the announcement at the company's annual general meeting in Kelowna, B.C.
Through its online career and educational services, Bridges.com assists in developing healthy, self-reliant individuals who are able to make positive, realistic and productive career decisions.
``Recognizing that a lot of young people who can benefit from our services are not in school, we want to offer direct access to our services,'' said Mr. Manning.
The company's previous three-year business plan had targeted a market-share of 20 per cent of North America's 36,000 middle and high schools. Having achieved a market share of 25 per cent, the company is now preparing a new three-year plan.
Mr. Manning noted that there's a need for a more personalized and individual approach to providing career services. Bridges.com will now direct its career exploration services not only at schools, but at individuals as well.
Why the expansion of focus?
``Statistics show that the average individual will make about 9.2 job changes between the ages of 18 and 34. And 50 per cent of first-year college or university students don't complete their initial program of study. This tells us many young people begin their career journey without a defined purpose,'' said Mr. Manning.
``We want young people to be able to access the information they need on their own, so they can take charge of their futures. Why do we wait until after graduation to begin meaningful career preparation and planning? We would not invest in a company that didn't have a goal. Bridges.com will provide tools to assist individuals, parents and career professionals in helping young people set and achieve personal goals.''
Bridges.com's comprehensive resources will empower young people to make informed and healthy career decisions before they waste time and money on educational investments that end in dissatisfaction and continual change of direction.
``Bridges.com will be going through a planning process over the next few months,'' Mr. Manning said. ``A new three-year business plan will be presented to the Board of Directors in September.''
When it comes to investing in the future of youth, the company believes everyone stands to benefit from a more informed, purposeful and career-ready future workforce.
About Bridges.com
Bridges.com is a career transitions company and the market-leading educational Internet publisher. The company provides online career and educational services to North American middle and secondary schools.
The company's community of individual planners includes over five million students accessing its career planning resources. The Career Explorer resource is used in over 5,000 U.S. and Canadian schools. The Choices line of subscription resources is used in over 5,000 schools and more than 2,000 non-school sites across North America. Bridges.com's online tools generated more than 80 million annualized page views in Q4 1999.
The company also publishes 14 online daily career news services, including customized services in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Manitoba. Other career tools developed by the company include the Career Pro News for career professionals, the home-user Career Advantage planning tool, and the @Bridges weekly HotMail resource developed for Microsoft Canada.
Bridges.com resources keep people informed about emerging career opportunities, and enable them to take charge of achieving the future they desire.
Bridges.com trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange as BIT.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.
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For further information: Norm Thompson, 7B-1404 Hunter Court,
Kelowna, BC, V1X 6E6, Tel: (250) 862-8722, Fax: (250) 862-8771, E-mail:
info@bridges.com, Internet: bridges.com |
