Tonny Hansen feels for every exasperated parent who has talked to their teenager about what they want to be when they grow up.

He’s seen the blank stare and heard the muttered: “I dunno.”

“There are times when you just want to cry,” says Hansen.

But recently, the program manager with Citizen Connect, a wholly owned subsidiary of Calgary’s Axia NetMedia Corp., found some solace.

He gave his 15-year-old son Philip a test-drive at the controls of FutureStart, Axia’s career planning software program that helps online users assess their abilities and gather information on more than 400 potential jobs.

“He thought it was cool,” says Hansen. “It gives him a tool to investigate. He can do it in his own space without a parent around, which has value.”

FutureStart is part of the emerging Web-enabled technologies heralded as the future of learning. FutureStart isn’t a Web site, but it uses the Internet to produce a more interactive program.

A recent demonstration in Hansen’s downtown office showed the program to be easy to use, engaging and a virtual one-stop career-planning centre.

A version of the Axia program has been purchased in Great Britain, with the potential of helping 2.3 million people in job searches. Last month, a large British Columbia job-placement agency signed a $250,000 deal to use the program. Users access FutureStart through the Internet. Once logged on — an access code ensures privacy — the process is orderly.

The first step is to develop a skills and interests profile, a relatively quick process determined by completing two tests. When completed, the computer maps out a variety of job-sector possibilities.

“It’s not putting you into a box,” says Hansen. “It’s just telling you have a high score in one area or another. You know a little bit more about yourself.”

The user then goes to work. Interested in the social services sector? A dozen job possibilities pop up on the computer screen. What does an administrative social services co-ordinator do? Read the text box. Or, click on the film icon and view a two-minute streaming video.

“You can read text, but this gives an impression,” says Hansen. “Can you see yourself doing this job?”

Another component links the user to job search venues such as Monster.com to see what specific jobs are available. Conversely, another link may say it’s a doomed profession.

Once a person’s decided on a job path, other software components keep the user on track. One aspect teaches the client how to build a resume, another how to set goals, another how to prepare for an interview.

It also provides testimonials. Ask Anne how she used FutureStart to find a career as a graphic designer, and she’ll walk the user through the steps she took.

At the same time, people can click on an icon and e-mail a message to a counsellor. If users prefer a real conversation, another icon connects them with a counsellor through a 1-800 number.

Mike Kynaston, vice-president of West Coast Group International Consultants Ltd., a B.C. job-placement agency, last month purchased a minimum of 5,000 program subscriptions at a cost of $250,000.

“The tendency for an unemployed person is to jump at the first job that comes available,” says Kynaston. “With this tool, once people get a summary of their skills and interests, they can direct and plan their futures.”

Kynaston says the software won’t replace career placement and transition professionals. It accents their skills, he says, because clients will do their own work determining their abilities and interests. Because they can work on their own at any time (as long as they have Internet access), they are likely to be more energetic in their search, he says.

“It’s a brilliant tool for younger people,” says Kynaston. “I think it captures their imagination. They do work with it rather nicely.”

Prototypes of the program were originally tested in the late ’90s on British street kids who had no computer skills. The results were phenomenal, says Kynaston.

Today, the British government, realizing an imminent skill shortage in all job areas as the Baby Boomer generation ages, is using the software as part of a program to raise the skills of as many people as possible, says Kynaston. In conjunction with the software, more than 200 counsellors are available at two call centres.

The British program lists 800 jobs that users can access. The Canadian version has between 400 and 500.

Working with Human Resources Development Canada, and various industry associations, Hansen says keeping content fresh is a prerequisite for success. The potential hasn’t yet been tapped, he adds.

Noting that Britain is at the vanguard, he believes exposure in B.C. and pilot projects in places such as Italy and Ontario will eventually make the program an indispensable tool for job-placement agencies, governments, schools and big business.

“It isn’t boring or tedious,” says Hansen. “It gives the user a portable, hands-on ability to find out who they are and where they might want to go in the future.”

At home, Hansen’s son is sold on the concept. Next up is a younger sister.