|
|
|
Certificate to Success
Bolstering professional qualifications can be more than just a mid-career paper chase
|
Business New Haven
4/29/2002
By: Mimi Houston
|
Let's say you're in your late forties or early fifties. You have an ok job, but it's no dream position. You yearn for change, but where to begin? You don't have the money or the mental fortitude to go back to school for a degree. You sometimes dream of a whole new career-maybe in the restaurant business, or running a catering company.
Or, maybe you're in your early twenties and you landed a position in the company of your dreams. You want to work your way up the ladder, but along the way your foot gets caught in a rung. You don't have the training you need to advance to the next level, and the guys that do are leaving you in their dust.
Are you stuck? No way.
There's a way to change your life that doesn't ask much from you financially or otherwise, and while it's still a bit unkown, it's growing in popularity every year. What's the big secret? Certificate programs. Many schools in Greater New Haven now offer a host of programs where you can earn a certificate-and in many cases college credits as well-and be on your way to a whole new career in less than a year.
“We have no real class make-up,” states Patrick Boisjot, chairman of the Department of Culinary Arts at the University of New Haven, where you can earn a certificate in culinary arts after taking four classes of 15 weeks each.
“We have a whole range, and they come from all different horizons - from the 18-year-old student just seeking a career to the 50- to 55-year-old student who has just now decided to change careers. We developed this certificate to give people the chance to try a career they think they are interested in.”
Boisjot says his certificate doesn't pretend to make professional chefs of his students, but he ensures it carries clout when they go out searching for that first job in their new chosen field, and highlights the fact that they can do this without spending four years in an intensive, expensive degree program, only to finish and decide the restaurant business is really not for them.
“A student is absolutely more desirable as an employee with their certificate,” he says. “We provide them with 12 college credits, and they can go out and start working in the field and even continue on toward a degree if they choose.”
\drop cap\In the certificate program, students gain enough knowledge about the field to manage all the tasks required to run a restaurant and then some.
“We have two requisite classes,” explains Boisjot. “The first is in basic cooking techniques. It's a demonstration class taught by professional chefs and is designed to level the field among students. The second two classes are electives that range from applied culinary techniques to classes in gastronomy - the study of food in the context of society.
The final course - advanced kitchen management - requires students to fulfill all the roles needed in running a restaurant-from menu planning, developing of all management manuals, staffing and scheduling, and the running of the institute's own restaurant which is open to the public.
Upon completion of the certificate program, your new career can begin.
“The restaurant business is a very hot field,” informs Boisjot. “Especially in Connecticut because New York and Boston are drawing people away. We get three to five job offers per student. There is definitely a need for trained employees.”
Someone who might be your new boss after completing Boisjot's certificate program is Jean-Pierre Vuiller, owner of Union League Café in New Haven.
“I would definitely hire them,” says Vuiller, of a student who holds the culinary arts certificate. “I would say that people who have paid to go through school definitely show that they are motivate - it's a good program.”
But take heart. If slicing and dicing are not for you, the same certificate training secret can have you on your way in no time to something that is. The folks at Gateway Community College, located in North Haven and New Haven, offer over 30 programs of study to earn a certificate. Choose from allied health, biotechnology, business, engineering, social science and technical studies to find your niche.
And they are constantly adding to that list in order to meet area employment demands as they change. At present, you can earn a certificate in water management, computer assisted drafting (CAD), or maybe meetings, conventions & special events management, and begin a brand new career in a nanosecond.
“Our certificates show that you are qualified and have been trained to do the job,” says Evelyn Cernadas, director of public information and marketing for the college. “Each certificate says that your peers have gotten together and created a set of standards for you to learn and adhere to.”
“Things change so rapidly, especially in the technical fields,” she continues. You may have to get certificate training again and again.”
Cernadas says many area employers use Gateway to keep their people up to speed in their areas of expertise. “We're a resource for businesses,” she adds. “A certificate is really a life-long learning tool, to keep up with your craft.”
She says the areas where certificate students can find jobs right now include the allied health field where, “we recently had a student who ended up with a huge paycheck,” in the computer field.
Cernadas points out that people with degrees who wish to remain in their fields but want to advance and stay marketable can do wonders for their careers by attaching certificates to their credentials.
“If you already have a degree in psychology but you want to do drug and alcohol counseling, you need the certificate to do it,” she informs. “Or, let's say you've earned your bachelor's in whatever field and now you want to teach. You need to know the art of teaching, the techniques and methodology, who your student is.” According to Cernadas, when you tack on a teaching certificate to your degree you not only help yourself, but those who sign up for your class.
“In so many cases,” she stresses, “the degree and the certificate are two things that go together.”
Robert Miles, director of career services at Gateway, says, like the college credits earned in Boisjot's culinary arts program, many of their certificate programs can also get you started toward earning your associate's or bachelor's degree while getting you into the field in short order.
“Our certificate programs can certainly be a way of getting a start in your chosen career field,” he says. “For someone who does want to continue on, it makes sense for them to choose a course of study that includes college credit.”
Don't know what your field of study is? Miles says to take advantage of any college's career counseling office to find that perfect fit. They'll use a host of personality assessment tools to help you clarify your vision of that perfect position.
“My job is to help people look at their choices and really know what it is they're deciding,” he explains. “Then we can decide if the certificate will be a stepping stone for them, or a terminal degree.”
Some of Gateway's certificates that serve as terminal degrees include those designed to help students prepare for the state-mandated tests they have to pass in order to get a certain position, such as the water management certificate. Others are unique to their programs and offer students exciting areas of study, such as the alternative fuel certificate housed within their nationally recognized automotive technology program.
Miles says areas that hold plenty of jobs right now include early childhood education, human services and all areas of the computer field. “But pay levels will vary,” he warns. Gateway has certificates in each of those fields to prepare you for work upon completion, if you choose them. But even if you don't, there are options to match almost any career interest.
If there's just one message Miles has for potential students, it might sound a lot like that old adage, “He who hesitates is last.”
“You don't need to wait until you have a crystal clear plan to begin your education,” he assures. “You need some general course work no matter what you're going to study, so you should sign up for that and start learning about yourself at the same time.”
\drop cap\What about those of us who have some plan of what we want to do, but need some alternatives? Nurses, for example, are in demand now, but not everyone wants - or is able to - devote the time and money it takes to enter the profession. A reasonable plan B? Becoming a certified nurses aide - in less than a quarter of the time.
“When we hire an individual as a certified nurses aide, we always make sure they are on the register,” assures Patricia Nargi, assistant director of nursing and staff development coordinator at St. Regis Healthcare center in New Haven, an affiliate of St. Raphael's Hospital. She refers to the state-held registry that lists all nurses' aides who have passed the written and skills tests that earn them their certifications.
“We always look for a certification,” continues Nargi, “there is greater liability with someone who does not have one.”
Nargi cites other certification-required positions at St. Regis as well. “We have a medical records person with schooling and a certification, and many of our R.N.s and L.P.N.s have certificates in gerontology from the American Nurses Association.”
Nargi says there are plenty of places where one can earn a certificate for a rewarding position in the health field, and the programs of requirement vary in terms of cost and time.
How to choose from the vast array? “If someone were to put three different certification programs in front of me and ask me to advise them, I'd say to choose the one that gives you the most overall program of study.”
She says to pay attention to the amount of time required to earn the certificate. You'll obviously learn far more in a program that devotes more hours to the earning of your certificate.
“And don't forget, there is financial aid available,” she adds.
\drop cap\Elizabeth Carraro, owner of Carraro Center for Careers, Inc. in Woodbridge, couldn't agree more. Carraro's agency helps find rewarding and enjoyable careers for disadvantaged people - those who have no high school degree or have limited work histories. Carraro, who started her own business in 1996, holds a bachelor's, master's and sixth year degree in education. She says her own life history inspired her to devote her work to helping others get a second chance - or in many cases, a first - at life.
“In 1996, when the welfare worklaw was passed,” says Carraro, “I saw it as an opportunity to use my teaching experience and my sales background to make a difference in peoples lives. We do whatever it takes to help our client succeed.
“The programs I've developed are well received and have an excellent reputation in the state. When I apply for funding every year, it's because of the reputation we've developed with the different agencies we work with, that we get that funding. I've developed over 30 programs and have served over 1500 clients. And of the 500 or so businesses that do this type of work in the state, I believe I am the sole woman owner. ”
Each client receives a customized and individual program of study that matches their area of interest - which she helps identify - and eventually leads to a certificate of completion in a number of areas including retail sales and marketing, medical coding and billing and the banking and finance industry, and more likely than not, a good job and a steady paycheck.
“We design our programs of study based on labor market research, and we meet with employers in the state who tell us what their needs are,” says Carraro.
In some cases, students can earn their certificates and be placed on the job in nine weeks. She says her certificates carry clout in the employment world.
“They demonstrate to employers that the student wants the job - they want to succeed. And employers realize they don't have to spend time training this person and teaching them about their specific business. They also demonstrate the student's commitment to learn about the job which shows they have the potential to be a really good employee,” she continues.
Carraro cites a high need for employees in all the services industries and designs her certificates to meet them.
“There is always a demand for any job where you are working with the public,” she states. “Right now the demand is huge. There's a high turnover because it's a very difficult thing to do.”
Carraro's certificates are saving countless kids who drop out of school by first requiring them to earn their GEDs, training them in their field of choice, and then providing them with on-the-job experience.
“The certificates are very helpful in placing our students in the job market,” she assures, and is excited with each example of success.
“I have a student who recently took our program in customer service training and had an internship at Griffin Hospital in Derby. He's now been hired and is working there full time.”
In some cases, Carraro's certificates can also lead her students on to further their studies at area community colleges, something that at one time was a seemingly impossible dream.
“We really offer a good stepping stone to college,” she says. “In our youth programs we're seeing kids enrolling now that haven't ever thought about it before.”
With success like that to keep Carraro fueled, she's got the energy she needs to expand her areas of service to cover a good portion of the state.
“We have a wonderful reputation with our youth programs in Waterbury and Ansonia,” she says, “and we're currently starting our programs of study in Hartford as well.”
All that means more students in need will get their chance to earn their own certificate to success.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
