In your experience supporting the development of career pathway systems, what have been the biggest challenges and successes? Photo credit: Vectorstock - Artist - rudall30
Biggest Challenges 1. Socio-Economic Barriers to Success – Sometimes they don’t have the gas or bus fare to get to the training
2. Interest – For some, it sounds too good to be true
3. Focus – Staying focused on the goal until graduation
4. Engagement – Completing Activities and studying
5. Trust – Trusting the staff with sensitive information
Photo credit: TaskQue – Sarmad Hasan 2018
Biggest Successes
1. The Graduates and The Employed – Completing the Program and becoming employed
2. The 2nd Chancers – Those who tried, fell down, got back up, and finished
3. The Sankofa – Sankofa means to “take from the past what is good and bring it into the present to make progress in the future.” When people succeed and then come back to volunteer, it is amazing! They take what they learned as a student/client, go out into the world and thrive, and then become an example to those in the programs.
In your experience supporting the development of career pathway systems, what have been the biggest challenges and successes? Photo credit: Vectorstock - Artist - rudall30
Biggest Challenges 1. Socio-Economic Barriers to Success – Sometimes they don’t have the gas or bus fare to get to the training
2. Interest – For some, it sounds too good to be true
3. Focus – Staying focused on the goal until graduation
4. Engagement – Completing Activities and studying
5. Trust – Trusting the staff with sensitive information
Photo credit: TaskQue – Sarmad Hasan 2018
Biggest Successes
1. The Graduates and The Employed – Completing the Program and becoming employed
2. The 2nd Chancers – Those who tried, fell down, got back up, and finished
3. The Sankofa – Sankofa means to “take from the past what is good and bring it into the present to make progress in the future.” When people succeed and then come back to volunteer, it is amazing! They take what they learned as a student/client, go out into the world and thrive, and then become an example to those in the programs.
Think of a situation in which you utilized some aspect of critical thinking. Briefly describe the situation and what element of critical thinking you used. Staying focused on critical thinking, what could you have done better?
Like many of my contemporaries have stated before me, COVID-19 (Pandemic) . I engaged so many aspects of critical thinking to get through it.
Here is what I experienced in reference to the wheel:
Purpose To reach my clients via the computer or their cellphone by continuing as many of the services (orientation, training, job placement, etc.) that I offered before the pandemic
Question(s) How do I reach them all? How do I conduct training? How do I help them find jobs?
Information Talked to my Veterans about access to computers or cellphones and needs (social, Employment, etc).
Interpretation and Inference The data from surveys in the community are my guide. However, I should be considerate if the job seeker has a sick family member or another barrier to success.
Concepts Digital services was/is a great idea! Tuesday, March 17th was my last workday in the office. It was closed and I was teaching via Zoom by Monday, March 23rd. As I quickly moved forward with plans, it was clear that the “Digital Divide” was much greater that I knew it to be before the pandemic.
Assumptions I assumed that people still wanted to work during the pandemic. I assumed businesses were still hiring. By helping the Veteran, I assumed that I helped their entire family.
Implications and Consequences By only offering online services, what happens to the clients without digital access? How do I connect to them if they don’t own a phone and may have housing insecurities? The implications of their lack of access directly affected their ability to get to resources or employment. The consequences of them not having basic communication access led to missed opportunities.
Point of View I looked at this issue with extreme urgency. People were losing their family, friends, homes, cars, etc. I pressured myself to do beyond my best to make sure that every need was met for the people that I could reach.
I attempted to start a forklift program at a local community college.
They were totally onboard but because of my lack of preparation, I was unable to get the program up and running.
Would you have handled it differently in hindsight?
In hindsight, I should have created a better plan with clear objectives for all stakeholders. I only made the objectives clear to the school.
What advice would you give someone in this position? Make sure that your objective is understood by ALL stakeholders.
What new strategies have you learned in this module that you plan to apply to future meetings with multiple stakeholders?
1. I would have shared the information before hand in a clear and concise plan and agenda
2. I would be cognizant that some stakeholders may have little to no experience in the subject matter. I assumed that everyone had a working understanding of what I was trying to achieve.
In your experience supporting the development of career pathway systems, what have been the biggest challenges and successes? Photo credit: Vectorstock - Artist - rudall30
Biggest Challenges 1. Socio-Economic Barriers to Success – Sometimes they don’t have the gas or bus fare to get to the training
2. Interest – For some, it sounds too good to be true
3. Focus – Staying focused on the goal until graduation
4. Engagement – Completing Activities and studying
5. Trust – Trusting the staff with sensitive information
Photo credit: TaskQue – Sarmad Hasan 2018
Biggest Successes
1. The Graduates and The Employed – Completing the Program and becoming employed
2. The 2nd Chancers – Those who tried, fell down, got back up, and finished
3. The Sankofa – Sankofa means to “take from the past what is good and bring it into the present to make progress in the future.” When people succeed and then come back to volunteer, it is amazing! They take what they learned as a student/client, go out into the world and thrive, and then become an example to those in the programs.
