KCSpeaks

Time at conferences goes fast and the final day of the 2016 NAWDP Annual Conference was not any different. I began day three in presenter mode, rather than attendee mode. My session called "Follow the Yellow Brick Road: Career Paths in Workforce Development" was well attended, despite its placement on the last day. Attendees learned about positions in workforce development, the skills, education, and experience necessary to obtain each position. Additionally, attendees learned ways to use the research in organizational and individual development.   The next highlight was the luncheon. The last day of the conference always has a NAWDP business meeting with the lunch. My boss, a member of the NAWDP executive committee, was celebrating her birthday and I was able to interrupt her very important message about membership with a group birthday song.  It was also announced at this luncheon that the 2017 annual conference would be in N...

My second day at the NAWDP conference was a busy day.  Workforce development is an industry full of passionate and talented people and today showcased them beautifully.   My day began attending the session of the next generation of workforce leaders, the New and Emerging Professionals cadre presentation. This session allowed each member to discuss his/her contributions to NAWDP and the field of workforce development for the past year.  Each cadre member completed a capstone project for this program and NAWDP. The topics showcased each member's passion for an area of workforce development.   The second day of the NAWDP conference always included the  awards luncheon. The winners had amazing stories and are a true inspiration to workforce development professionals. The wealth of knowledge the winners had in leadership, customer service, training, and development could never be bottled and sold. When you listen to the stories of each award recipient, ...

Day one of the 2016 NAWDP Annual Conference is complete. My experience is that the NAWDP conference is more of a reunion for many professionals to see people from across the country that they cannot see every day. If I could summarize day one in one word, it would be "networking."   My day began with a networking breakfast in a local restaurant to see people that I had not seen in a year. As great as social media, email, and telephones are, nothing beats meeting face to face with people to hear about the latest achievements and to brain storm about issues in workforce development. Problem solving takes on a different perspective when it involves people from across the country.   Day one of the conference means key note speaker time. The opening session keynote speaker was Michael Angelo Caruso. His presentation, "How to Engage Someone in 15 Seconds: The Power of Persuasion" was informative and was entertaining.  He gave some great tips to engage people in d...

I did not know as a young child I wanted to be a workforce development professional when I grew up. Not only did I not know, I did not even have an idea what workforce development was. Like most people, I ended up in workforce development by accident. I was working for a local social service agency performing enrollment and parent involvement for the child care center. Many of the parents that were enrolling their children were required to participate in employment services because they were receiving TANF assistance. After learning more about this job, I obtained my first position in workforce development, performing case management for job seekers enrolled in TANF and WIA employment services. As a new workforce development processional, I knew I wanted more. I knew I wanted to learn and grow in the industry, but I had no idea how to get to the next step or if there was a next step.   Fast forward a few years and a few jobs in the industry. I found a path through the wood...

In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I would focus on the career advice that people receive from mothers and other care takers.   I want to share with you some of the career advice that I have been given from my family. My grandmother did not think about careers. She thought about jobs. My grandmother was a woman that lived through most of the 20 th century having been born right after World War I. She lived through the Great Depression and World War II.   She saw great prosperity in the country, but also great poverty. Her perspective was not as much about what kind of work, but where are the jobs. There was one day in my young adulthood that I was having a conversation about jobs with her. She stated to go to the Post Office. She said that the Post Office had jobs for everyone that wanted a job. Interestingly enough, this conversation was at a time when the United States Post Office was beginning its decline. She could not understand that there would be a time when there...