New Angles for Career Development Anglers: Retraining the Trainers in Our Workforce

There is an old Chinese proverb that states:

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

As job seekers turn to career development and workforce professionals for more and more help, the old methods of support are becoming like antiquated fishing techniques — few people are getting a bite or reeling anything in.

So for many, unemployment insurance benefits are providing the food for now, while workforce experts devise new and creative ways to teach their clients how to manage their careers more successfully.

Workforce professionals are quickly realizing that the demands on their clients have grown not only in size and scale, but in the scope and quality that are expected in helping displaced workers transition into new careers and jobs.

Just this week, Oakland University in Rochester Hills announced an expansion of their Career Development Certification program. Their press release noted:

“…the program is designed for people who work in career development agencies, including employment services, personnel departments, vocational rehabilitation programs, and school career centers.”

These types of programs are being offered in both classroom and online learning settings. The Oakland University program offers national certification with only 120 hours of course work. The course work focuses on innovations in career development skills, best practices, and facilitation strategies.

It is heartening to see that even the best fishermen and women are willing to keep their angling skills in step with the drastic changes in the waters all around us. Hopefully, we will all be catching our own fish soon, with support from the professionals that bring their knowledge and expertise forward.