Skip to main content

Welcome to KC Speaks!

Welcome to KCSpeaks, my new blog where I plan to write about workforce development and how to make it work. Make it work? Yes. How do you make it work. Let me give you a run down of this. Workforce Development is a fancy title for the jobs business. Not just any jobs business, but a government sponsored industry of jobs support. I say support because employers create jobs, but those of us in the workforce development industry just support employers by supporting people that want those jobs.

Lately, it seems that rather than a development industry, we are in the amusement park business, riding the roller coaster from good economy to a bad economy, from funding falling from the sky to collecting soda cans on the side of the road. Its all an up and down- a roller coaster is the best analogy for the past few years. The job seekers have changed, the jobs they are applying for have changed, and the world of work has changed. This is not a Ferris wheel!

Where is the development in workforce development? That is the goal of this blog.  In future posts, I would like to discuss strategies to help job seekers get jobs,  actions that we as professionals can take to further our success, and to put some development in the workforce development. Welcome to KCSpeaks!

Comments

  1. Good Stuff!!!! I am excited about your new endeavor. I definitely view you as an expert in the field. The next step is a book and then keynote presentations at all of the conferences. Keep up the good work.


    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do you Birthday?

Another year in my life has passed. It’s time for another birthday. Each year as the day approaches, I take the time to reflect on my past year, my accomplishments, and my goals for the year. My birthday is like my personal New Years’ celebration with another opportunity to have the best year ever.   I am not afraid of a birthday. Age is just a number, but each year is what you make of it. Each year I have seen the sun rise, the rain fall, and the snow melt, I have been given a gift from the universe. Many people do not get to see another birthday. I owe myself the opportunity to set goals and feel proud as I work towards achieving them. Sometimes these goals have been born from unhappy feelings and bad situations, but growth brings wisdom.   In my working life, and especially as a workforce professional, I know some of my growth must be professionally. Having experience working with job seekers looking for jobs, I understand how crucial professional growth is...

The Authentic You

Authenticity is not something we think or talk about every day. It is something we all need for ourselves and to truly connect and have meaningful interactions with others. Anyone on the #improve2019 journey is looking to either improve themselves or to be the guiding light for another person on the journey. Without authenticity, the fruits of labor are bitter. They are not satisfying, but meaningless. The fruits grow are wants in the world, but are not what we truly need.   Authenticity starts with the self. It means we are first to be honest with ourselves, good or bad. It means taking a hard look in the mirror and owning our faults. Are we trying too hard or not enough? Are we speaking and not acting? Do our actions match our intentions?   These are the questions we need to ask ourselves and to really ponder. After we have truly done the recognition and have taken the steps we need to improve, we can really look to helping others doing the same.   Auth...

Great Questions=Great Answers! The Pieces to the Puzzle are revealed!

Newbies in workforce development sometimes ask me how to work with a customer or how do you know why someone cannot get a job.   The answer is really simple. Ask the right questions, and then listen for the answer.    It’s not a secret. You can’t just look at person or their job seeking documents and just know. You need the person to open his mouth and speak.   You need the narrative.   Why narrative? First, you will get the information to help you help the customer.   That is if you ask the right question.   Secondly, it helps you establish rapport and trust with your customer. Someone is not going to open up if he does not trust you. This is very important.   Remember digging a hole to China as a child.   Quickly you found out that you could not find China with one shovel full of dirt.   The digger must unearth many layers to get to China! A child will quickly find out that he can’t shovel his way to China, but may find neat ...