KCSpeaks

Life in workforce development land has been busy recently. New legislation means that programs need creation or revision. There are new policies, new partnerships, new procedures, new technology, and anything else that is new in life to keep us occupied.   New equals busy for those of us in workforce development land as we explore the new landscape, but when we are busy being busy we miss so many things that help us become better us. I have taken a breather from busy for a few days to notice all the things that I was too busy to see. For example, if you pick up a fallen autumn leaf while walking you will see that there are veins in leaves that reach all areas of the leaf. Now passed its prime, those veins no longer bring water and nutrients to the leaf, but rather dry up and allow the leaf to curl from dryness.   While you were busy I noticed that the life cycle of a leaf on a New England tree is much like a business. It grows and blooms to prime. It expands and covers t...

In my years of workforce development, I have worked with many different people. People seeking all kinds of positions, with different levels of education, and experiences that vary. Many times people that end up in the one stop career center are not only looking for a job, but also seeking that inner “next” for them. I met a job seeker recently that was just that.   Many times in workforce development, a workforce development professional will help the job seeker define who they are and what they offer in regards to a specific position, then work to help the job seeker find companies that offer that position. Unfortunately not everyone fits that mold and this job seeker was not going to be able to slip into the standard mold. What made this job seeker different? This job seeker had a variety of skills, but expert at none. He had business skills, technical skills, clerical skills, and people skills. He had knowledge of multiple industries from his experiences in his caree...

Each day in my working life, I go to my office full of job seekers and workforce development professionals. I am surrounded by people that both know and understand what I do or at least have an idea what I do for a living.   I exist in a bubble of sorts where I don’t need explanation.    Then I leave the confines of the office and I enter my real life. One of the things that is difficult is trying to explain the industry to non-workforce development professionals. Some industries have a name for people that are not in the industry. For example, in religion, non-clergy are “laymen” or for the military, anyone non-military is a “civilian,” but terms of the non-professional aside, these are the non-workforce folks.    Recently, I was at an event in the community. People that had never met were coming together for a cause and the first thing is introductions.   As everyone went around and introduced themselves they mentioned their work or industry...