If there's anything the recession has
thought us, it's how to get a new career. A lot of people who got
laid off from their old jobs had a hard time looking for work. It's
not that there are no available work around, but simply, they lack
the skills needed for the work being offered.
It's a good thing there are vocational
or trade schools one can attend to to get the necessary skills
needed. With this vocational or trade schools you can pick up
training for a variety of skilled jobs. There are programs available
that can be completed in a matter of a week, though most courses
offered can take about a year. Graduates get a certificate in a
particular skill. Costs depend on the school, course, and length of
training.
Food service industry.
College of DuPage. This school
offers programs in baking, culinary arts, food service
administration, and hotel management. It would take about a year to
earn a certificate This coming year, the College of DuPage will open
its new food service and hospitality building. There will be two
restaurants, a bake shop, and six hotel rooms where students can get
real hands-on experience.
Other local
community colleges like Kendall College, and Le Cordon Bleu
Collegeof Culinary Arts, also offer food service program.
ABC Bartending School.
If
you are looking for a quick career change, this school has locations
in Chicago, Mount Prospect and Franklin Park. They have basic 40-hour
training program for students to learn how to operate a bar. The
course includes learning a variety of tasks from operating a computer
ordering system to mixology, the art of cocktail preparation. Longer
training programs are also available. The students also receive
instruction on responsible alcohol service. ABC Bartending gives a
summer promotion that offers basic bartending course for only $299.
Hands-on careers
If
you are more of a tinker, vocational programs offer training for
automotive, manufacturing and welding careers. According to school
president Debra Glanton (The Illinois Welding School), the country
faces a shortage of about 200,000 welders as older practitioners
retire.
The Illinois
Welding School. Here students will learn the different types of
welding needed for pipe work, manufacturing and construction.
Students will also master reading blue prints and interpreting
welding symbols. Courses can be finished from 10 to 30 weeks. Tuition
starts at about $4,700 and it includes fees and books, as well as
welding jackets and hoods. It also offers a two-week course which
allows students to try welding to see if they'd be up to it before
committing to a long course. Illinois Welding School has locations in
Romeoville and Bartonville, near Peoria
College of DuPage offers certificates in
manufacturing technology. Areas
of specialization include drafting/design, automated manufacturing,
computer-aided design, mold making and tool and die making. Housed in
a new building, the program also offers certificates in automotive
technology and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning design.
Certificates take
about two years to earn at a cost of about $4,000. And despite the
bad publicity about the loss of manufacturing jobs, manufacturing is still the second largest
employment sector in DuPage County.
Careers in environmental
technology.
Wilbur Wright College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago,
offers a hazardous material management program. Students earn a
certificate by taking six courses learning how to handle dangerous
chemicals and waste products. Graduates are hired as health and
safety experts by corporations, city governments, industrial and
transportation operations, and hospitals.
Wilbur Wright also
offers a six-class certificate in emergency management. Courses cover
leadership, incident command, planning and emergency operations.
The health care field.
Janet H. Davis, dean of the college of nursing and health services at
Robert Morris University, Chicago says, "Hospitals are
emphasizing cost containment, which means more work is being
delegated to vocational workers."
Robert Morris University offers an associate degree.
Students complete internships at a retail location and a
hospital. Today, pha rmacists provide services such as immunizations,
which means more pharmacy technicians are needed. The certified
pharmacy technician program. This school also offers a 40-week
medical assistant program. Graduates of this course are certified in
electronic health records or phlebotomy - drawing blood
samples.
Robert Morris offers a 15-month program for personal
trainers. Since fitness is also a growing field, thanks to the
"Wellness Thinking Generation." Graduates from this course are
hired by health clubs, or fitness centers. Graduates can even start
their own private fitness training business, which what many of the
graduates pursue. Another growing job category is massage therapy as
hospitals and long-term care facilities add this service.
Practitioners say that massage therapists can earn as much as $40 an
hour.
The Cortiva Institute in the Loop, Crystal
Lake and Woodridge offers 12- and 15-month certificate programs.
Students can attend part time or full time classes. They can receive
training in several sciences, business ethics, and four different
massage techniques. Graduates are certified and licensed in Illinois.
The school also extends help with resume writing and job counseling.
For you to get a new career, all it needs is the skill to complement the new job you are about to enter. And Vocational or Trade schools are there to aid you in choosing a new career and help you fulfill your dreams.