fivestar*

Intelligent technology solutions
that prepare individuals and organizations for the future of work

Our Experience

With over 23 years of experience, fivestar* develops custom software solutions that centralize workflows, optimize processes, and enable decision-making through real-time data and business intelligence. With Pittsburgh roots and a global reach, fivestar* helps clients in a wide range of industries nationwide.

We prepare individuals and organizations for the future of work through the intelligent use of technology. Working with regional and national partners across the United States, fivestar* has developed solutions in career pathways, prior learning assessment, apprenticeship management, and data collection and reporting.

Our Approach

Our personalized approach starts by learning about your organization's challenges and goals. Then, we tailor a solution that is exactly right for you. Here's how we do it:

  • service-icon-fivestar

    1. Assess

    Analyze how existing systems can be augmented with new technology to address your program/operational need.

  • service-icon-design

    2. Design

    Collaborate with you and your end users to define the optimal solution and user experience for your budget.

  • service-icon-develop

    3. Develop

    Create, test, and deploy in a series of short “sprints” allowing you to the ability to provide feedback early and often.

  • service-icon-support

    4. Support

    Ongoing training and support
    to ensure sustainability as your program and/or operations scale.

fivestar plus design element

Case Studies: Fivestar and the Future of Work

Apprenticeship Management

Building awareness of training and apprenticeship opportunities. Managing the apprentice workflow from onboarding through evaluation.

Learn More >

Apprenticeships

Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) is the nation’s leading collaborative in robotics and workforce innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership, ARM accelerates the advancement of transformative robotic technologies and education to increase the U.S. global manufacturing competitiveness. According to a Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute report, when asked to cite the most effective skilled production workforce development strategies, 49% of executives answered, “the creation of new veteran hiring programs.”

To assist in the effort, fivestar* is part of a consortium of ARM members representing industry, education, workforce development, and government developing an apprenticeship program model to translate the skills and competencies military personnel acquire to the skills and competencies required in Industry 4.0 manufacturing. The program is directly linked to the U.S Department of Defense’s SkillBridge initiative. DoD SkillBridge is an opportunity for service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of service.

Central to the program is an online portal to match and connect transitioning military service members with training providers and employers. fivestar* is conducting a discovery phase to determine the technical strategy to best integrate the education partner’s existing systems to the SkillBridge technical platform. fivestar* is creating user and data workflows, user journey maps, and business/technical requirements for the project.

Questions? Email us.

Career
Pathways

Connecting students and employees with training providers and employers who can help them take their next steps towards in-demand careers.

Learn More >

Career Pathways

Funded via $20 million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant, fivestar* worked with the Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office (MCCEO) on a multifaceted approach to help high school students, unemployed, dislocated, incumbent, underemployed workers, active-duty military and veterans find a career path that is mutually beneficial to the learner and the community’s economic growth. Over a period of three years, fivestar* researched, designed, and developed the following systems.

CareerGPS

This innovative curriculum-to-career portal helps job-seekers and prospective students make informed decisions about career options — matching individual interests and skills with programs and careers. Factoring in the individual's unique needs, expectations and preferences, the application identifies nearby Massachusetts Community Colleges with relevant academic programs that match career preferences. In addition to aligning individual interests, goals and college offerings, the application is supported by current labor market information. As a result, tool visitors receive a customized online experience that culminates with a detailed action plan tailored to their personal career and academic objectives, furthering their educational and professional growth while driving program interest and student enrollment within the college system.

MyExperienceCounts

With an array of experiences that often translate to college credit, promoting a program that improves the process for identifying and awarding credit for prior learning (CPL) benefits students and institutions. The MyExperienceCounts solution is a centralized, online portal that promotes CPL program awareness and helps college staff better serve students who are seeking credit for life experiences. The tool streamlines the CPL process through a shared, online workspace that enhances collaboration and efficiencies, setting more students on a path to success through CPL.

Data Warehouse and Anonymizer

fivestar* built a powerful data warehouse that centralized information from multiple sources to streamline decision-making based on specific questions. New schemas were created to integrate workforce and academic data from local, state and federal sources. The data warehouse included an anonymization engine to safeguard sensitive student information and a view to manage who can access data and the time period for which that data was made available.

Questions? Email us.

Operational Effectiveness

Automating complex workflows to increase efficiencies within organizations. Increasing operational effectiveness reduces overall operational costs.

Learn More >

Operational Effectiveness

Northshore Community College of Massachusetts is a leader in the field of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), and a pioneer in using technology to support the PLA workflow. One of the primary goals of PLA is to reduce barriers to learning and re-training for adult learners looking to quickly re-enter the workforce. Like many colleges in areas with a high rate of transitioning workers, Northshore was challenged with efficiently evaluating the experience of prospective students for credit to reduce the amount of time they would spend in the classroom. The large number of prospective students waiting for evaluation coupled with paper-based processes and manual stakeholder coordination created significant bottlenecks.

fivestar* worked closely with Northshore to map out their prior learning assessment, stakeholders, touchpoints, and existing tools, highlighting opportunities to improve the process and to introduce automation. The resulting solution incorporated and enhanced Northshore’s existing prior learning assessment process, drastically reducing the learning curve for staff and administrators. The solution also helped to better engage prospective students in providing experience information, while reducing the amount of manual work and coordination required of evaluators in evaluating that experience for credit.

fivestar* has worked with colleges and non-profits across the country to identify similar opportunities in their operations to better engage their target market, while reducing overall stress on their staff and budgets.

Questions? Email us.

Learn More about our Apprentice Hub

The future of work is now.  Our apprentice hub is an integrated, scalable cloud-based solution to manage the apprentice program life-cycle from initial outreach through program evaluation and reporting.

Do you already have a program you would like to discuss? Send us an email and we'll be in touch.