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:

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    1. Assess

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

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    2. Design

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

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    3. Develop

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

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    4. Support

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

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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.

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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.

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Career Pathways

Through a U.S. Department of Labor Scaling Apprenticeship through Sector-Based Strategies grant, the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD), with the American Hospital Association, is leading a partnership of industry, education, and workforce development organizations in the effort to standardize training and development of apprenticeship programs in healthcare. The “You’re Hired” initiative seeks to create a strong, sustainable pipeline of prospective apprentices in the healthcare industry, and an ecosystem of partners who can provide a high-quality standard of training and development.

The initiative focuses on bringing partners together to develop new apprenticeship programs as well as rubrics and standards that will allow for these programs to be scaled to a national level. The goal of the initiative is to provide on-the-job training and competency development which aligns with the needs of the industry. It will also provide employers with a competent employee pipeline and confidence in the skills of the individuals completing the apprenticeship programs.

DCCCD has contracted fivestar* to develop a scalable technology platform that will attract participants to the initiative. The platform will also match participants to the programs that best align with their interests, needs, and career plans. Additionally, it will measure and track program requirements, enrollment, and execution. The custom solution will centralize data from across all apprenticeship programs and partners to provide in-depth analysis of program efficacy and return on investment.

Questions? Email us.

Operational Effectiveness

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

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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.