There is a realistic yet disturbing trend for people who lost their jobs to need upgraded skills and/or certifications to recoup back where they were. The competition is severe, the bar is raised and people are feeling the heat to keep up. It is always a good idea to keep your skills strong and relevant. The philosophy of business today, whether it be in government, education, nonprofit or private industry, to continuously improve. In fact, companies and organizations and entities have made it a top priority and Big Business in and of itself.

But what bothers me is that companies are not willing to assist its incumbent workers to do this…

They’d rather dump and replace. There’s nothing staid about business anymore. It seems all business behaves in the manner once known only to “cut-throat” occupations like show business. The new way of business is to stigmatize and single out those who cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars to get these pieces of paper—in spite of the fact that laid off workers are experienced in doing the very thing they for which employers now demand a certificate. Schools charge big bucks yet the employers rarely summon them directly in calling for jobseekers enabling the smooth transition from school to work—unless the school has a dynamic, go-getter placement office with their own contacts. That is equally as rare.  Education is also big business.

More haunting is the fact that many of these workers have mortgages and kids in college. How on earth are they supposed to afford to first go back and get a college degree—if they never had one—for work they’ve already  done for years or invest several thousand dollars in certification training—without a damned prospect waiting in the wings for them? How many loans can a family weather? Many families are two steps away from welfare.  Career center grants from the government are not always dependable as funds deplete quicker than they are replenished. (Always check with your residency One Stop on www.servicelocator.org if you need new skills for a career change or would feel more confident with upgraded skills so you can tell an employer what you’ve been up to when asked the proverbial, “What have you been doing in all this time?” Sometimes these centers can direct you to freebies in the community for what you need if training funds are gone.)

Schooling is a wonderful mark of a free society and I’m not against education but for God’s sakes, where does this feeding frenzy for more and more education end? How much pressure can or should people endure? Correct me, I know, it is always about money—or is it? If you have money, you can pave your way to employment? It sounds cock-eyed to me.  I thought you were supposed to make money from a job, not pay your way into one—especially not for those jobs that directly benefit humanity! I thought you go to school, get a job and work your way up on that job or move on to a better one. The order of business today seems backwards. How is it that you suddenly need school to maybe get back to where you were in the first place? Business should cherish its existing human capital and do everything it can to help its workers improve intellectually and productively by providing more education while workers are on the job and creating a nurturing atmosphere—not dumping them and daring them to jump in and find another spot that may or may not exist yet on the employment wheel. It seems cruel and inhuman.

I refuse to believe that people cannot find a job because of lack of certificates. Here’s why:

I know professionals who have retrieved jobs in their fields recently without new certifications or higher degrees—and some are even over 50—and not all of them “knew somebody. “ I also know MBAs with a network who can’t find work. 

The National Association of Executive Recruiters is in agreement that higher education always opens doors and that employers do not look kindly upon candidates even if they state the college they attended on their resume under Education with just the major left open ended because they didn’t attain a degree. 

I am troubled by that.  I see a widespread elimination of the middle class just by the demands of the work world. They’ve made getting a job like trying out for Hollywood or a Broadway Show. In the long run, what ultimately worries me—something that has long-range, daunting ramifications— is that the whims of business seem to be creating a whole new social climate of exclusion that is changing the very core of society. Centuries ago, only the poor, under classes labored and sweat while the idle rich went to classical music concerts and traveled and did things affluent middle class people do today. Is work the new up- and-coming status symbol?  I think employment or work pretty soon will be the conception of upper class people. Only the elite will be working. It will be in vogue to work if you are rich. I see this reversal coming as the employment pendulum with its overwhelmingly competitive demands seems to swing in the opposite direction. It seems like there’s a social undertow to “kill off” most workers! Welcome to the great divide known as “work.” Is this work’s tragic legacy? Is this an American “work ethic”?

We’ve got to reverse this trend for everyone’s sakes. Let us show them it’s wrong, and while we are looking for work, actually save society on the way to the next job. Experience should count. Some education is necessary. Blue collar workers shouldn’t need a resume the way desk-job professionals do. People shouldn’t have to just through hoops to get a job. What is business doing to retain good workers?

I still believe that good people can find work if they are energetic, upbeat and apply a little imagination and dedication, whether or not they go can go back to school while looking, because I’ve seen examples of both situations. Nothing in the job search world is set in stone and you don’t need more angst feeling intimidated by everything you hear that you lack. Eventually, life experience “catches up” with and even surpasses classroom lessons. Real life in the everyday work world is not like the textbooks. Some schools are separate entities out to make money with nary a clue as to the “real” world! While school is a treasure trove of training in critical thinking, problem solving and creativity, ultimately it is the individual, with his/her own temperament, characteristics and emotional intelligence who must prevail and succeed. I would never discourage anyone from going to school or getting more education and that certainly is not my intent.  But if you can’t afford it because you are living on unemployment insurance benefits and have a family to support or yourself because you are single and on your own, so be it. Plow through with what you’ve got, look for free opportunities and plod onward. Look at all the angles before you self condemn and then get on with the business at hand. Get the job and then lay out the money for further education—if you can.

Most of all think out of the job search box. Blog about your work-related passions, publish opinon-editorials, compose short ,catchy business plans with ideas in your introductory letters with resume, targeting desirable companies, whether they advertise or not,  interview comfortably, keep moving, stand out, knock ‘em dead,  and like sales trainers teach their staffs, count every “no” as one more notch toward the “YES.” This way you’ll be on top with the best of the advanced-degreed, privileged people but realize it may mean working two jobs and knowing that there is no stability or guarantee of steady work in a fluid work world. Even with education, don’t let the ink dry on your resume.

-By The Job Enthusiast Who Won’t Rest Till Everyone Is Put To Work!

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