NWLB Round 2

Yesterday I went back to the Michigan Works! Southgate office to complete the first step after orientation to qualify for the Michigan No Worker Left Behind program.  This time it was to attend a Career Trends workshop.  It was pretty much what I expected – a waste of gas.  They make you go to their O*NET website, http://onetcenter.org , do a keyword search on careers that interest you so that you can learn more about what type of qualifications and education are necessary, as well as average salary and, most importantly, if that career is deemed “in demand”.

After playing around with the O*NET search engine it was time to use the Interest Profiler which will match your interests with the careers that are best suited for you.  The Interest Profiler consists of 180 statements of work descriptions and you can answer Like, Dislike, or Unsure.  (For example, Working with databases; Changing a car’s oil; Directing a play; Provide rehabilitation therapy for seniors; etc.)

After you answer L, D, or U to the 180 statements you can print out your Score Summary.  You are scored on six interest categories:

Realistic: People with Realistic interests like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.  They enjoy dealing with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.  They enjoy outside work.  Often people with Realistic interests do not like occupations that mainly involve doing paperwork or working closely with others.  (My score: 2)

Investigative: People with Investigative interests like work activities that have to do with ideas and thinking, rather than with physical activity.  They like to search for facts and figure out problems mentally, rather than to persuade or lead people.  (My score: 18)

Artistic: People with Artistic interests like work activities that deal with the artistic side of things, such as forms, designs, and patterns.  They like self-expression in their work.  They prefer settings where work can be done without following a clear set of rules.  (My score: 17)

Social: People with Social interests like work activities that assist others and promote learning and personal development.  They prefer to communicate more than to work with objects, machines, or data.  They like to teach, to give advice, to help, or otherwise be of service to people.  (My score: 26)

Enterprising: People with Enterprising interests like work activities that have to do with starting up and carrying out projects, especially business ventures.  They like persuading and leading people and making decisions.  They like taking risks for profit.  These people prefer action, rather than thinking.  (My score: 18)

Conventional: People with Conventional interests like work activities that follow set procedures and routines.  They prefer working with data and detail, rather than with ideas.  They prefer work in which there are precise standards, rather than work in which you have to judge things by yourself.  These people like working where the lines of authority are clear.  (My score: 20)

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, it’s a shame that this couldn’t all be done from a remote location (i.e. home) through the internet via login/username and passwords.  Instead, I had to drive 40 minutes to Michigan Works! and sign a piece of paper documenting that I had attended and completed my Interest Profiler.

I did learn some things about myself though through the Profiler.  For starters, that I enjoy communicating, teaching, and helping others.  The Profiler also reinforced what I already knew about my displeasure for working with wood, tools, machinery, etc.  The rest of it is pretty much a toss-up with a slight leaning towards working with procedures, data, and precise attention to details.

My next step in the NWLB tango is to attend a Career Exploration Preparation workshop which is scheduled for next Thursday (8/13).  I’ll provide another update then.

Michigan Adult Literacy Saddening

Edited to correct statistics previously posted.  See bolded items for corrections.

Pondering my last post regarding Michigan Works!’s TABE test (Test for Adult Basic Education), I felt maybe I came down a little too hard on the difficulty-level.  As I stated, it was supposed to test through a 12th grade level, but seemed far lower in my estimation.

Now, I’m understanding a little more.  The Detroit Free Press’s Rochelle Riley wrote a column today about the literacy level of working-age adults in the state of Michigan.  Turns out, 44% are not literate beyond a 6th grade level.

How sad.  No, not sad – maddening.  I’m mad that my state is in the condition it is in.  Over 15% unemployed statewide and greater than 17% in the Detroit metro area and nearly half of all adults can’t read sufficiently?!  I don’t even know what to say about that or where to go from here.  I’m so dumbfounded that I’m at a complete and utter loss for words.  Maybe I’ll regain utterance and post more about this later.  Arghhh!

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I’m back.  I’ve had a few hours to compose myself and think about to whom my disappointment should be directed.  Should it be the education system-slash-state of Michigan?  Should it be the employers?  Should it be the individuals?

Is the educational system to fault?  Certainly.  To some degree.  Afterall, as the article points out, our school system has to share the blame for “socially promot[ing]” students to the next grade level who were under-educated, and thus, undeserving.

As for the companies, the employers.  Some may hate me for saying this, but in our capitalistic, free market system, companies will hire the best talent that they can get for a cheap as they can.  This means that they do not regard the employees’ literacy or education so far as they are able to complete the job that is charged to them.  And in this state that is generally manual labor – manufacturing.  Basically, one need not know of the existence of Troy nor comprehend Homer’s (not that one!!) Iliad.  Please do not misunderstand what I am saying.  I do not absolve corporations for everything and play the “capitalist, free market” card.  Surely they must behave ethically toward those they employ, and in this instance I believe it is ethical for them to hire qualified, yet uneducated folk.  In fact, one might say it would be prejudiced for them not to.

In the end, I have to lay blaim mostly on the people themselves.  Are they unmotivated and lazy?  That may bee too harsh, but largely, I think yes.  There are adult educational institutions in which to go to improve oneself.  Were they motivated enough they would have gone.  You might say that they have hard, physically demanding jobs or any other excuse in the book.  Believe me I can sympathize.  I could only attend college part time in the evenings after long days at work too.

I attended a conference last week where I had the opportunity to hear Chris Gardener speak.  He is the man who was deftly played by Will Smith in the film The Pursuit of Happyness.  It was a film based on the true story of Chris’s life.  He was a homeless, single father of a young son in early 1980’s San Francisco.  He never once blamed anyone else for his situation.  He believed in personal accountability.  He had made choices that had led him to where he was.  He had some bad luck along the way too, but ultimately his predicament was his own.  Through much hard work he was able to rise through the difficulty and become successful.  I believe the same thing for the illiterate adults of Michigan.

What if they didn’t know they were as poorly literate as they apparently were?  In other words, ignorant?  In this case, ignorance is not bliss.  Life is a journey towards self improvement.  I believe we should always be looking to better ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually.  All three areas are equally important.  And in today’s world, securing employment increasingly depends on our knowledge and mental skills.  To have improved physically or spiritually, and neglected your mental capacity, will not help you support your family.

Thanks for letting me think my way through this post.  It definitely was an enlightening endeavor.  Please read the article and leave me your feedback – critical or agreeable.

NWLB Orientation

I wanted to share with you my experience at the Michigan Works! No Worker Left Behind orientation.  First off, is there any place more dreary to visit than a Michigan Works! office?  I imagine the doom, gloom, and despair I encounter there can only be surpassed by (or compared to) a prison.  I mean the people there are just miserable.  Come on people!  I know we’re all unemployed and we may feel that our situation is hopeless, but can we not be a little pleasant at the same time?  This particular office in Southgate doesn’t do too much to encourage the downtrodden.  The office is in an old school – high school or maybe community college – building.  The hallways were damp, grey and endless.  Walking through, I was one of swarms of people passing doors on either side hung agape as if rows of Venus flytraps awaiting the next unfortunate passerby to enter and become its prey.  To her credit, the lone exception to the thick fog of depression enveloping the building was the NWLB orientation presenter Jenny.  She was quite pleasant if not entirely cheerful.

The orientation itself, on the other hand, was unnecessary.  This was just example one (example two to follow) during this day of why government is not efficient at the tasks it undertakes.  The whole purpose of the orientation, namely, to learn about the qualifications and steps required to be accepted and receive funding, could have been done entirely online.  In all my weeks of researching the No Worker Left Behind I did not find any source with the clear, concise information I wanted to understand the program.

Basically, here’s how it works.  1.) Attend NWLB orientation, 2.) Attend Career Trends Workshop where you complete an Interest Profiler and research your career by looking up occupations on their O-Net web site, 3.) Attend Career Explorations where you prepare and explore the job market of your occupation, 4.) Take the TABE (Test for Adult Basic Education) test to measure your education and find what training may be necessary in your new field, and lastly, 5.) Make an appointment to meet with a Case Manager who will go over your prior steps and review your TABE test results with you.  The crazy thing is all these steps must be completed in person at a Michigan Works! office when they are all suited perfectly to be done online.  Fortunately, I was able to knock out two steps in one visit as I took the TABE test while there for orientation last week.

Which brings me to my second rant.  When introducing the test, the administrator stated that we will not be getting the results that day.  We will not know how we did until 8-10 weeks later when we would meet with our Case Manager.  Right away, I new this wasn’t going to be similar to any test I had taken recently (say, the last 15 years).  Then, we weren’t ushered into a room with desktop computers, oh no, we were staying right there behind the long, wobbly, decomposing wood tables.  Then the tests came out with the scan-tron answer papers and #2 pencils.

Now let me tell you about the tests.  When I realized the test would not be computerized, I was expecting the type of test that is individually sealed and is broken open only when the administrator gives permission.  Wrong again.  These tests have been recycled over and over for probably the past 15 or more years.  And the only reason I am that conservative on my estimate is because one of the questions in the test provided an example of a web page that would have been similar to those of that era.

The test was comprised of four sections: reading comprehension, math problems/equations, math in practical application, and language.  The test was to determine basic education which was indicated to be through a 12th grade level.  I don’t know if they were talking about the 12th grade education of a Detroit Public School graduate, but the test was no where near 12th grade level in my opinion.  At its highest, maybe a 9th or 10th grade depending on when you learned about basic geometry.  Now, that’s not to say that I answered all the problems correctly, just that it wasn’t too challenging, and when they say basic education, they mean BASIC.

So here is example number two of how the government is not efficient at the tasks it undertakes.  My most recent test experience is taking the GMAT.  The difference in efficiency and professionalism is night and day.  The TABE test could take some notes and best practices from how GMAC administers the GMAT.  First, it’s computerized so scan-trons and #2 pencils would be eliminated.  (As an aside, are #2 pencils really needed anymore with scan-trons?  I know that the polling place in my voting precinct uses as scan-tron system, but it reads blue or black ink.  Even that would be a baby step-up for the TABE.)  With computerized tests, the results can be given immediately, no more needing to wait.  Additionally, make the TABE adaptive.  This will give a better indication of where ones strengths and weaknesses lie.  Let an engineer or accountant really show off and shine in the math section by getting deeper and deeper into challenging material.  Conversely, if someone really struggles with punctuation or spelling let it show.  The good thing with adaptive tests is that it really hones in on ones level and proficiency on the topic.  I would think that would be what one wants before registering for classes that may be clearly above their abilities.  Lastly, a computerized test would allow for someone to move directly on to the next section after completing the prior one.  I found myself completing sections of the TABE 5 or 10 minutes before the time expired so I would have to sit and wait.  It would have been nice to be allowed to move on and not be held back by someones idea of a standard completion time.

So there you have it.  There was my NWLB orientation and TABE feedback.  I’m not really looking forward to going back.  Next week though is my appointment for my Career Trends Workshop.  Oh joy!!  And demand is so strong and the system is so incredibly backed-up that processing and registration for the $5,000 in education funds is taking upwards of 10 weeks.  So I’ll be missing any Fall admissions deadlines.  I hope to make it all moot by getting a job by then.