WHAT NOW? Wednesdays – Career training: How do I get there from here?

[Kristine]

This week I would like to share a few tips on the importance of career training and taking advantage of available opportunities. Given the current state of the economy, I am hearing more and more people talk about being out of work and shifting direction in their careers.

I’ll just start with a hypothetical. Let’s say you've already done your research and assessed the job market against what you do well and enjoy doing. You may have already done some networking and talked to others already in a desired field of interest that you would like to pursue. But maybe your pursuit ended when you discovered you were missing some required training or experience required or highly desired in such jobs. So what now?

First, don’t assume that training is too expensive or that there is no way to fit it into your busy schedule. In addition to your local community or technical colleges, there are all kinds of online resources right at your fingertips. I have found great information just googling a career field AND training AND city or state of interest. There are also many sites like www.do-something.com that offer all kinds of tips and resources to identify colleges and vocational training. If the training you need is offered at state community or technical colleges, you may be surprised to find out it might be very inexpensive and sometimes even FREE.

There are different opportunities in every state, but I’ll share what’s available in Georgia. Georgia's HOPE Grant (a separate program from the HOPE Scholarship) is available to residents of Georgia who are attending a Georgia public technical college or public college or university to earn a certificate or diploma regardless of high school graduation date or grade point average. For eligible technical certificate and diploma programs, this grant provides full tuition and a book allowance at public institutions. Over the past 8 years, 9 out of 10 people I have shared this with in Georgia had NO IDEA this FREE TRAINING was available.

Second, remember when opportunity knocks, you must answer or you’ll miss out! I can’t tell you how many times I have offered to help people get connected to training or other professionals who can offer FREE valuable advice and they just don’t take advantage of it. I know from mutual acquaintances that some of these folks are still struggling to get where they want to go, so I know they are missing out on opportunities. If there is a career field you really want to pursue, DON’T GIVE UP! :-) Sorry, I’ll try to get off my soapbox now….

OK, now just for fun - here's an interesting take on career training...

Nine Lives Career training - For more funny movies, click here

[Kristine]

Thanks Abby! The embedded video at the end plays when I view this page, so not sure why you can't see it. You may be able to view it under Videos where it is also posted. It is just some funny animal clips from America's Funniest Videos that I ran across when searching for Career Training videos.

[Abby]

Great article but I do not see what was supposed to be a movie?