WorkSkills Education & Training, LLC

I am sorry everyone, I have had to shut down due to covid a year and half ago. So now know when I will be back.

Additional things to disinfect...

As I sit here and read the news, watch videos on my cell phone or tablet we are told to wash our hands. But here is a thought, what is the one thing that is always in your hand, the item you put on the sink when your in the bathroom, put in you pocket when you sit, take to bed with you, sitting at the table while you eat your dinner, looking at when in the car, or even answer the phone from your grandma?

Let here you all say what the answer is... say it out loud let me hear you! YOUR PHONE! We are told to wash out hands and washing them for two chorus's of Happy Birthday I.e. 20 seconds. We wipe and disinfect all the chairs, tables, air around us but do you keyboards, and laptops. We are to be how many feet away from the next person... six feet.

I just talked to my grandson who is feeling sick and he is one with his phone glued to the palm of his hand. But I bet he hasn't cleaned this device that is full of germs. I hear you asking what is your point, well my point is clean you phone. I have included a link from CBS news that shares with me how to clean this germ catching device. You don't need those 50 dollar gadget cleaners, when you have rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, window cleaner, and soft cloth.

Not only do we need to clean our hands, but lets clean our phones to, what could it hurt, nothing, what could prevent, getting sick and this day in our life, could end up with the covid19 virus that might just kill us.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/your-phone-could-be-harboring-coronavirus-how-to-effectively-clean-it/ the link is below the picture.

Your phone could be harboring coronavirus. Here's how to effectively clean it. Cellphones are a magnet for potentially harmful bacteria.

What is a job coach?
Thinking about people who struggle to find a job
I just got off the phone with a former student of mine. I just read his article on Medium called “Why Vocational Rehab Sucks…” I know that VR has helped many people with disabilities. I appreciate that. It isn’t that “VR sucks.” It’s about the need for a good job developer. I propose that what we really need is a “job coach.”

After a rehabilitation student receives training, how do they get a job? My goal is to help the graduates use these new skills and match them to jobs in the current marketplace. Refresh their resumes and work on cover letters and apply for jobs. The graduates know how to do this, they have the skills to perform all sorts of new tasks in the office related field. They also look at their personality profiles and think about companies they would like to work for, small, medium, large, etc. They know this information, they know how to apply for the jobs, they have been trained in the skills set required to get a good job.

What is the issue? Is it the lack of confidence; believing they can perform the assigned tasks, or having faith in themselves to be able to do the position requirements? We all want jobs that are a right fit for our interests. How do we maximize our chances of getting the job? How do we get these individuals into jobs that are a right fit? It is easier to go back to what we know, but it is stepping out in faith that they can perform the tasks with their new or refurbished skills is a large problem one faces.

“Right fit.” That’s an interesting topic. What exactly does it mean? It is about matching up interests and skills to find the correct job. We want a job that the student finds interesting and compelling. Finding companies that have soft and hard skills will flourish and hopefully stay at that job. We can give the student training on how to get a job. What we really want is about an initial interview for the student, how can they sell themselves at the interview. Again, they must believe they can do it.

Why can’t employers take a chance on someone who might have a disability? Some disabilities are visible, and some are invisible. A good job developer is supposed to bridge this gap. They are supposed to help a student get an interview and job assistance to make a position work. But in my experience, that doesn’t happen. I see many job developers not doing their jobs. I already teach a student to look at job sites. I already teach them to create a cover letter and resume. The job developers I have seen aren’t doing anything else.
What makes me really upset is that the job developer is getting paid to do what we already do! At the end of training, students are already trained to look for jobs that are a “good fit.”

What these students really need is a job coach, not a job developer. These students have the tools to look for a job. They know how to look at job sites, simplyhired.com, indeed.com and so forth. What they really need now is a coach, one who will encourage them and keep them going. A coach is real with them. A coach encourages them and holds their feet to the fire.

“How many jobs have you applied for?”

“How many job interviews have you been on?”

“What do you like about these jobs?”

“Have you thought about doing this a different way?”

A job coach talks about why the student is applying for a job. A job coach sticks around for the first 90 days to help ensure success. Or longer if needed, they help fix the soft and hard skill problems along the way. A job coach helps the student see their own value. If a job doesn’t work out, they are there to figure out what happened and encourage the student to get back out on the search.

Does it sound like a job coach would benefit our unemployed? Would a job coach help you move forward if you were on a job search? Share your thoughts!

I (Carol) will be on vacation the week of 11/4 - 11/8/19. Roger Rolofson will be here at WorkSkills if you need any questions answered or email me at [email protected]

Thank you Matt McCabe for your guidance this morning in helping us create our first safety video. It will becoming soon...