The Job Interview and a science fair project

Our recent visit to Harlan inspired this blog post found on the Master Career Counselor blog:

http://bit.ly/dRDiKM

Harlan Site Visit

Last week our travels took us to Harlan for a day of training, lunch, and a Q & A session with our GCDF colleagues. We are always amazed at how spring seems to hit the mountains first. The trees were starting to bloom and the flowers were also beginning to show off their lovely colors.

LKLP Site Visit

Spring is slowly but surely arriving in Kentucky and that means site visits. This week we enjoyed spending a day with our GCDFs and their colleagues at LKLP. The morning consisted of a training on how we can help prepare our clients for interviews. After a delicious pot luck luncheon, we headed to Leslie County to learn more about the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing.

As many of you know, the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery was started in 1939 by the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) as a part of its demonstration project in the care of the mother and child in rural areas of Kentucky. From the beginning, Founder Mary Breckinridge viewed nurse-midwifery as central to health care. When FNS began using nurse-midwives in the United States in 1925, it was able to secure a qualified staff in only two ways, by sending the American nurses to Great Britain for graduate training or by enlisting British nurses already qualified as midwives. In the early years, the FNS offered scholarships to American nurses to go to Great Britain for training in nurse-midwifery, and recruited British nurse-midwives.

If you have not had a chance, plan a visit to Leslie county and learn more about FNS - a true Kentucky gem. Students still come from around the country for nurse training. The history is fascinating and grounds are absolutely beautiful. A bed and breakfast will be opening soon in Mary Breckinridge's former home.

Pathways to Prosperity Study

Many of our GCDF trainings fall back on the discussion of how our current American educational system is failing our youth and what can be done about it. We also continue to discuss to what extent does education pay? How does vocational school training compare to a traditional four year college education when it comes to getting jobs? Afterall, 86% of the jobs in world of work fall under the Realistic Holland code. Read an exciting new study recently published by Harvard on these very topics - Pathways to Prosperity.

The official site for the Workforce Opportunity Project Goes Live

The official site for the workforce opportunity project is now available online for the full report and details of the research.

Visit it soon: http://www.workforceopportunityproject.com/

What do Employers Want?

In GCDF training, our discussion often flows to employability skills and what are employers really looking for in new hires. Many of our conversations have revolved around employers in Eastern Kentucky and their hiring needs. Watch the EKCEP website for the upcoming WOP results that will certainly have a regional focus.

But what skills are employers seeking in recent college graduates? According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2011 survey, employers are looking for job candidates with these top five skills and qualities:

Verbal communication skills
Strong work ethic
Teamwork skills
Analytical skills
Initiative

How does this list compare and contrast to what you are hearing local employers request?

Workforce Development is Crucial

Your GCDF credential has NEVER been more important than now.   As the government is likely to cut budgets by severe magnitudes, it is critical for you to maintain your professional competencies and show the tangible benefit you bring to the table.

In the past WIA funding has been branded as a source of training.  Anyone that walked through the doors of a one stop, would likely think something like this:

"My friend Bill got some money from you all and I heard this is the place to get trained."
 Thus, the services provided to the client centered on ITA funds.

This is no more.  The government is seeing to that.

What workforce development must do to survive is a simple equation: do more with less. 

This means a focus on partnerships with other agencies and and not duplicate services.  There also must be a bent on helping everyone become a qualified worker for a quality job regardless of their socio economic status. 

In the future, your office will be the "go to place" for:

The best companies that are hiring

The best place for a resume

The best place for preparing for a job interview

The best place for great service and help.

In the end, what matters most is helping the clients you serve have a better life.