November 1, 2011
Free job-skills training program extended
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NWjobs
In this era of draconian budget cuts and endless belt-tightening, it's good to finally see that reason has prevailed. One of the Employment Security Department's (ESD) best bargains -- the free Microsoft e-learning courses offered through WorkSource -- has been continued for at least one other year.
As I had warned readers back in June, the deal to offer these courses at no charge was slated to be axed at the stroke of midnight on Halloween night. However, the program was rescued from a grizzly fate when ESD was able to negotiate a year-long extension through October 2012.
Under the program, residents of Washington state are able to access Microsoft's entire suite of more than 1,000 online computer courses, ranging from basic computer literacy to Microsoft Office certificates to technical training for IT professionals. Participants can either follow one of five Learning Plans offered by WorkSource, or they can take individual courses to learn about individual features of Office products
"This has been one of the most cost-effective investments we've ever made in skill training," said ESD commissioner Paul Trause in a prepared statement. "Microsoft e-learning has something for nearly everyone, whether you need just a little refresher or you're starting from scratch. It's hard to find another training package that is so widely suitable."
So far in 2011, a total of 12,195 people have completed more than 29,000 Microsoft courses, according to ESD. As Trause mentioned, the cost of the program for ESD averages out to less than $12 for each course completed -- an easy investment for a program that can return potentially high dividends via a well-trained work force.
After completing the course on Windows Office 2007 suite, enrollees can take a free certification exam on the software through WorkSource, which also offers a limited number of free certification exams for IT professional courses. To find your nearest WorkSource testing site to schedule an exam, visit the WorkSource certification page.
Though the courses are available to any working-age state resident, the training is particularly well-suited to the unemployed or underemployed, who may have experience in evolving industries that are demanding more computer skills. It is also a great chance for older workers to catch up on some of the latest technology to enhance their experience. Plus, any kind of certification listed in the skills section of your resume is sure to catch the eye of a hiring manager looking for workers who are already trained.
To register for this valuable opportunity, visit Go2WorkSource.com and click on the Wow! Free Microsoft E-learning icon on the right. You now have a full year to take advantage to the deal, but we all know how quickly time can fly by. Halloween 2012 is only 364 days away.
Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.
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Karen Burns is the author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, a career guide based on her 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities.
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Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.
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Why do some companies fail to prosper in their prospective sectors and some accomplish all their respective objectives and goals? Even with ample training included in the curriculum of the office, it has been found that most employees go back to their old habits. Every year organisations spend millions to provide the correct training for their employee development, but only a quarter were found implementing them on the job. The question which remained was how to enable the training to “stick” with the employee? For the employees to retain what they had learned, they needed the information to be encoded in their brains.
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