Careers and Training
SkillPointe, a nonprofit division of the National Association for Community Colleges (NACCE), bridges the gap between job seekers and career training opportunities in 10 high-demand, skills-based industries.
Project Activities
Design Thinking workshops
Sketching
Wireframes
Prototypes
User testing and Research
Case Study: Fostering Careers and Training for the Skilled Trades
SkillPointe evolved from its original mission to now focus on connecting and supporting prospects with career advice, financial tools, and training opportunities. In partnership with NACCE (National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship) and its affiliates, SkillPointe provides vital pathways to the skilled trades. My role as UX Lead was to help deliver an MVP that streamlined the user experience, optimized site navigation, and aligned with key business priorities.
My Role:
As the UX Lead, I worked closely with executive leadership, cross-functional teams, and stakeholders to define, align on, and deliver the MVP. This involved mapping the existing experience, identifying pain points, optimizing site hierarchy, designing new pages, and applying visual consistency across platforms. The project had a broad scope, which evolved over time to include a B2B approach, a partner site, a redesigned external foundation website, and various landing pages.
Research & Discovery:
The project began with a website audit of the existing B2C site, focusing on high-priority improvements to enhance search rankings and web metrics. Over time, I continued to make incremental improvements, refining design concepts for the site, B2B functionalities, and a partner portal, while maintaining a focus on user needs and business goals.
I conducted discovery workshops and interviews to better understand user needs, current pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Key research insights included:
- Non-intuitive navigation: Users struggled to find relevant content easily.
- Readability challenges: Text-heavy pages without clear visual hierarchy.
- Confusing and broken controls: Key features were not functional or intuitive.
- Visual inconsistencies: Inconsistent branding and design elements.
- Unclear calls to action: Lacking clear guidance on next steps.
These insights provided a foundation for redesigning the site’s structure and interactions, aiming for a cleaner, more intuitive user experience.
Research & Discovery:
The project began with a website audit of the existing B2C site, focusing on high-priority improvements to enhance search rankings and web metrics. Over time, I continued to make incremental improvements, refining design concepts for the site, B2B functionalities, and a partner portal, while maintaining a focus on user needs and business goals.
I conducted discovery workshops and interviews to better understand user needs, current pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Key research insights included:
- Non-intuitive navigation: Users struggled to find relevant content easily.
- Readability challenges: Text-heavy pages without clear visual hierarchy.
- Confusing and broken controls: Key features were not functional or intuitive.
- Visual inconsistencies: Inconsistent branding and design elements.
- Unclear calls to action: Lacking clear guidance on next steps.
These insights provided a foundation for redesigning the site’s structure and interactions, aiming for a cleaner, more intuitive user experience.
UX Research:
To ensure the product met both user needs and business goals, I conducted ongoing research around competitors, industry trends, and potential market gaps. I also created prototypes and test plans, facilitating user interviews to gather feedback on various design concepts. This process helped refine the design direction and validate hypotheses.
Collaboration & Strategy:
During discovery, I worked closely with the broader team, facilitating workshops, review sessions, and regular meetings. I collaborated with executive leadership to assess business opportunities and consider the potential impact from a UX perspective. Whenever new concepts were proposed, I quickly researched, sketched, and iterated on ideas to assess their viability and refine design direction. Adopting an Agile methodology, I led design review meetings, participated in dev meetings and stand-ups, and worked closely with the development team throughout implementation. I also took part in testing and QA to ensure the final product adhered to our design standards.
Design & Development:
Initially, we had to maintain the legacy design system, but I gradually introduced new visual styling to improve the overall user experience. I provided sketches, wireframes, and flows, delivering high-fidelity screens for both mobile and desktop versions. These designs were documented in a style guide to ensure consistency across all touchpoints.
Guided, non-linear journey:
For users starting out, we designed a more guided experience, leading them through content with personalized recommendations. This self-selection mechanism helped increase exposure to career opportunities by presenting relevant content in a logical flow.
Key features and design solutions included:
Mobile-first design: As most users access the platform via mobile, the design was optimized for a seamless mobile experience.
Redesigned hierarchy and site structure: We reconsidered the website’s structure, prioritizing user segments (e.g., those new to the trades vs. those upskilling) and aligning it with the business objectives.
Prioritized, contextualized calls to action:
We presented clear calls to action at the right time and place, making it easy for users to understand their next steps and take action without confusion.
Consistent visual hierarchy:
By establishing clear, consistent size, color, and placement of key elements, we improved navigation and ensured users could easily identify and engage with important content.
Actionable copy:
We focused on writing copy that directly communicated the expected action, guiding users through the experience without ambiguity.
Extendable component designs:
These components supported various content types, allowing for consistent use of badges, links, and other elements throughout the platform.
Microsites and landing pages:
To capitalize on new business opportunities, we created microsites and landing pages tailored to partners. Some were co-branded, while others were distinctly unique to the specific campaign or partnership.
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Conclusion:
The redesigned SkillPointe website has significantly improved the overall user experience for both prospects and partners. By focusing on a clear, intuitive site structure, responsive design, and actionable content, we successfully delivered an MVP that met business priorities and provided a strong foundation for future iterations.
Key Outcomes:
- Improved site navigation: Simplified user journeys with clear calls to action and intuitive content structure.
- Better conversion rates: More users were able to easily navigate through the site and engage with relevant career training opportunities.
- Enhanced personalization: Self-selection mechanisms increased relevance, allowing users to view the most pertinent career paths, training, and opportunities.
- Increased engagement: Clearer content, contextual calls to action, and improved usability led to better engagement and a more satisfying user experience.
This project highlighted the importance of collaboration across teams, iterative design, and continuous user feedback. By aligning user needs with business goals and leveraging a mobile-first design approach, SkillPointe is now better positioned to support skilled trades training and career advancement for a diverse range of users.