KCSpeaks

The great recession may be over, but there are still remnants of the recession that will live with us. One of these things is the new category of people “the long term unemployed.” At this point, people are past 99 weeks of unemployment and are now just in that magical place they go where they are no longer counted in the labor market. Although these folks’ numbers are in some magical realm where the official data counters no longer search for them and where reporters no longer show the faces of the unemployed in the news, those in the day to day workforce development business know that they still exist. We see their faces daily, as “regulars” in our offices. Our offices have become like that sitcom bar where “everybody knows your name.” Whenever, I see people lingering, despite utilizing services on a regular basis, I try to analyze what is going on with a person. Why isn’t he employed? I have noticed that some people share some common experiences or demographics. Many of the lo...

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by my alma mater to a dinner where college students deciding on what major to pick would get the opportunity to hear from different people and about their chosen career paths.   I had never done anything like this before, but I decided that this is what workforce development is all about. At the dinner, students received an opportunity to sit with the professionals to hear about their careers and to ask questions. Before the dinner wrapped up, every alumni and alumna received the opportunity to speak to the group.   Thinking back to having been a college student, I remember that feeling that I knew that going to college had something to do with work, but I was not sure what exactly and how did this translate to a job in the real world.   I have decided to summarize that information given to the students from the alumnus for everyone in workforce development land.   Advice to College Students: The road is different for ...