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When 20 students enrolled this August in the new customer-service training class sponsored by York Technical College, organizers figured they had hit on something: an offering that could lead to jobs in the Lancaster, York and Mecklenburg areas.
Others must have thought the same thing. Twenty more students enrolled when the short course opened up again this month.
It's an example of some new and continuing retraining efforts hosted by schools in the south Charlotte-area suburbs – some free, others with fees, and all with the goal of putting people back to work.
John and Kim Klish of Weddington found themselves among the thousands seeking jobs, so they turned for retraining to South Piedmont Community College in Monroe.
The couple moved here from New York in 1979, when John worked for IBM. He later worked in sales for CarMax. Now John, 53, and Kim, 52, are students. Kim is studying business administration and John focusing on human services technology.
“We needed to do a career makeover and hadn't been in school in 35 years,” John said. “We received fliers that talked about training for people between jobs, and it was free. Our experience was that the people at SPCC couldn't be more helpful. They went out of their way to accommodate people in our position.”
Forecasters say that while the job market will stay tight in our region, seekers should prepare and retrain for new jobs once they open up.
Consider:
Central Piedmont Community College's online career guide, at www.cpcc.edu/career, which includes new sections on social media. That's a result of growing numbers of people using those sites for job searches, according to CPCC spokeswoman Jessica Graham.
South Piedmont Community College is offering workshops this month for small businesses; including “100 Businesses You Can Start at Home.” The college also is adding a new career readiness class on tax preparation. Details: http://spcc.edu, then follow the “Entrepreneurship workshops” and “Tax prep class” links.
Charities are involved in job training efforts, too. Clients at Pilgrims' Inn, a nonprofit women's charity that serves homeless and at-risk families in York County, are learning customer service and book keeping by managing the canteen at Daimler Trucks North America in Fort Mill.
And to help families dealing with a reduced income, United Way of York County posts an “Evaluating Your Finances” checklist, prescription drug discount card and job search tips on its Web site: www.unitedwayofyc.org.
At York Tech, the customer service course is the latest in a long line of “Quick Jobs” offerings, where students can train in 12 months or less for jobs with strong prospects in the region. The school launched the customer service course at the request from Lancaster County Economic Development, according to Ernie Green, dean of off-campus centers for York Tech. County economic development is recruiting call centers and customer support businesses to the region, and wanted the work force to be prepared.
The course meets Mondays through Fridays for four weeks at the Lancaster Education Center. Students cover communications, teamwork, and computer skills. Cost is $529, not counting test fees.
Staff writer Cliff Harrington contributed to this story.
