If you are struggling to get your feet off of the ground in your search for a good career a professional mentor can help you to focus your goals and take action towards attaining your dream job. Your mentor can act as a guide as you navigate through a pathway that will lead you to a successful career. Here are some crucial tasks that a mentor can help you with:

 

Guidance

A mentor can help you seek out relevant information to give you a better view of what career paths you may be interested in. It may be helpful for you to talk to people to find out what jobs might be a good fit for you or to research online. Engaging in a paid internship is a great way to experience a different job before making a commitment to a more permanent role. Goal setting is very important in every step of the way towards your dream career. Mentors can help you with goal setting.

 

Defining Goals

It can be unclear where to start when seeking work or changing careers. Will you need job training courses or a college degree? A mentor can help you with defining your goals and can act as an accountability coach as you achieve them. In tackling any large endeavor, such as job seeking, or changing careers it is helpful to break the whole process down into manageable tasks. A mentor can help you set SMART goals for yourself - goals which are: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive.

 

Achieving Goals

Your mentor can act as an accountability coach to help you to achieve all of your career goals. They can provide you with encouragement, advice, confidence-boosters, information, and networking. They can be a person you can reach out to when you need assistance and when you seek answers to questions relating to your career pathway. They can keep you on track towards achieving your career goals.

Training If Necessary

When seeking a new job or career change many people may need additional training in order to achieve their goals. A mentor can help you find the right training you may need in order to explore a new career path, or gain employment in a new field. Many jobs require certification and many professions do not actually require a four year college degree. Some jobs you can begin working right away such as customer service and require only on the job training. Your mentor can help you to discover what kind of training you may need as you embark on your new career and how to obtain it.

 

Taking the Next Steps

Once you have decided upon a career path or a specific job you wish to pursue, your mentor can help you with making yourself marketable by offering guidance on resume writing, interviewing, how to write a cover letter and thank you notes for interviews, and even how to dress for success. Mentors can help with fostering leadership skills, self-confidence, and problem-solving abilities. Your mentor can also assist you with networking, which can play a vital role in landing your dream job and opening up doors to new opportunities.

Finding the right career can be a very challenging task. Studies have shown that using a career mentor can lead to an 80% higher success rate than navigating that pathway alone. A mentor can offer guidance, assist you with defining and achieving your goals, help connect you with training if necessary, and steer you in your next steps on your career pathway. We can match you with a mentor to help you achieve all of your career goals, one which will walk with you on your professional journey, every step of the way.

In today’s fast-paced world we need to be at the top of our game in order to succeed financially - especially with rising inflation and wages that do not reflect increases in the cost of living. And unfortunately, not all of us have the financial resources to attend a four-year university. So how can we contend with rising inflation and job insecurity? Here are some ideas:

Earn your GED: First and foremost, complete your high school education if you have not already. If you did not yet earn your high school diploma, consider attending courses or tutoring to complete your GED (General Education Development). You can take your GED online and even complete GED courses online. The GED is comprised of four subject areas: social studies, math, science, and language arts. It will cost you around $40 to take. Employers and most training programs require either a high school diploma or GED so it is vital to have this completed when you enter the job market.

Job Training: To increase both your marketability and your wages consider gaining valuable job training. Fast tracks to good careers include: CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), truck driving, pharmacy technician, truck driving, and phlebotomy. These fields do not require a four year college degree and training can occur within a couple of months at a relatively low cost. Also consider on the job training. Learn skills, and increase both your salary and your marketability while earning an income on the job.

Internship: Consider a paid internship. Job placement with a company that will help you grow into a role with on the job training: earn while you learn. Many companies also hire interns. An internship is a great way to see if you are interested in working for a particular company, while earning on the job. Also, many companies also hire interns so it is potentially a terrific way to start out a new career.

Job Coaching: Most people know the phrase, “Dress for success,” but there is much more than having a great wardrobe that needs to happen in order to land a great job. Many people may not be sure of what career to pursue, or if they do, how to go about it. It is important to take career assessments and to use tools such as interest inventories and learn about various careers which you may find interesting.

Your resume needs to be updated and polished. You may need practice at acing an interview. Many people do not realize the importance of reaching out to social networks, or may not have a clear idea where to start. Additionally, people may not realize the power of a positive job reference. We can all use a leg up at times and a job coach is an incredible resource to increase your chances of landing that perfect job.

Mentoring: We all need someone to check in with from time to time. There are a lot of life skills which are involved in building your career from start to finish. Finding a job mentor is an excellent way of learning about the job from someone with the experience to share with you and help you to grow. Mentors can assist with learning life skills, financial planning, furthering one’s education, and embarking on a new career.

Come to AACF for all of the above. We will assist you with completing your GED and match you with job training in the area of your interests. We can place you in a paid internship where you will gain valuable job skills while you earn an income. And we can match you with a career coach and mentor in order to keep you on track to achieve all of your goals.

Contact us for more information and see if AACF is a good match for your career needs! Our services are free to those who qualify.

In today’s fast-paced world we need to be at the top of our game in order to succeed financially - especially with rising inflation and wages that do not reflect increases in the cost of living. And unfortunately, not all of us have the financial resources to attend a four-year university. So how can we contend with rising inflation and job insecurity? Here are some ideas:

Earn your GED: First and foremost, complete your high school education if you have not already. If you did not yet earn your high school diploma, consider attending courses or tutoring to complete your GED (General Education Development). You can take your GED online and even complete GED courses online. The GED is comprised of four subject areas: social studies, math, science, and language arts. It will cost you around $40 to take. Employers and most training programs require either a high school diploma or GED so it is vital to have this completed when you enter the job market. 

Job Training: To increase both your marketability and your wages consider gaining valuable job training. Fast tracks to good careers include: CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), truck driving, pharmacy technician, truck driving, and phlebotomy. These fields do not require a four year college degree and training can occur within a couple of months at a relatively low cost. Also consider on the job training. Learn skills, and increase both your salary and your marketability while earning an income on the job.

Internship: Consider a paid internship. Job placement with a company that will help you grow into a role with on the job training: earn while you learn. Many companies also hire interns. An internship is a great way to see if you are interested in working for a particular company, while earning on the job. Also, many companies also hire interns so it is potentially a terrific way to start out a new career. 

Job Coaching: Most people know the phrase, “Dress for success,” but there is much more than having a great wardrobe that needs to happen in order to land a great job. Many people may not be sure of what career to pursue, or if they do, how to go about it. It is important to take career assessments and to use tools such as interest inventories and learn about various careers which you may find interesting. 

Your resume needs to be updated and polished. You may need practice at acing an interview. Many people do not realize the importance of reaching out to social networks, or may not have a clear idea where to start. Additionally, people may not realize the power of a positive job reference. We can all use a leg up at times and a job coach is an incredible resource to increase your chances of landing that perfect job. 

Mentoring: We all need someone to check in with from time to time. There are a lot of life skills which are involved in building your career from start to finish. Finding a job mentor is an excellent way of learning about the job from someone with the experience to share with you and help you to grow. Mentors can assist with learning life skills, financial planning, furthering one’s education, and embarking on a new career. 

Come to AACF for all of the above. We will assist you with completing your GED and match you with job training in the area of your interests. We can place you in a paid internship where you will gain valuable job skills while you earn an income. And we can match you with a career coach and mentor in order to keep you on track to achieve all of your goals. 

Contact us [https://aacfworks.org/youth-program-waitlist/] for more information and see if AACF is a good match for your career needs! Our services are free to those who qualify.

If you think you won’t be able to earn well without a four-year college degree, think again. There are many great jobs that do not require a four-year college degree or even a two-year associate’s degree. Among them are: Certified Nursing Assistant, customer service, security, and truck driving. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. BLS) the salary for Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) ranges from $24,000 to $44,000 per year. Training for CNAs does not require a bachelors or associate degree but instead requires 120 hours of training and prepares the recipient for further training if the future CNA wishes to advance in the medical field. Full-time employed CNAs may qualify for employee benefits including health insurance, life insurance, paid vacation time, and retirement plans. CNA is an emotionally rewarding job that requires teamwork and has the benefit of room for further training and advancement in the medical field.

Customer service is a great job requiring a high school diploma or equivalent and some on the job training. It is a great job for people who enjoy interacting with and assisting others. The average yearly income for customer service is $37,000 (U.S. BLS). A great thing about the customer service field is that it is a part of nearly every industry. It is a career with room for growth. Most positions are full-time and may take place in a call center, in the administrative area of a large business, or even from the employee’s home.

Security guards have an average yearly range of salary from $23,000 to $50,000 (U.S. BLS) and work in a variety of locations including residences, corporate offices, schools, hospitals, casinos, and financial institutions. Many full-time security guards receive employment benefits as well as room for growth in the company. Certification to become a security guard in Chicago requires a minimum of 20 hours of training which can be taken at a security firm or through a community college. 

To become a truck driver one must obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and complete a certain number of training hours of driving with a truck driving school. Depending on the type of truck and distance (interstate versus local) the average earnings for truck drivers range from $30,000 to $70,000 and can exceed six figures. Truck driving can be a very lucrative profession and if it is interstate trucking, involves travel to various locations throughout the country. 

If you are considering seeking job training and embarking on a new career consider one of these professions: CNA, customer service, security, or truck driving. We can connect you with the job training you need, job placements, and paid apprenticeships or internships that will advance your career.

Contact us [https://aacfworks.org/contact-us/] to learn more and to register for our workforce development programs ongoing right now.

Wage ranges taken from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. BLS) [https://www.bls.gov]

Low income families, BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color), women, and youth have been hit the hardest from the economic recession in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The negative impact includes higher rates of poverty among these groups due to job loss. Also impacted for these groups are the areas of food insecurity, housing burdens, reduced access to both healthcare and child care, and increases in the risk of violence and abuse at home due to COVID-19 related stress and social isolation. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession have disproportionately harmed BICOP, low income families, women, and youth in comparison to Whites and people in higher income earning brackets (ASPE, September 2021).

COVID-19 has undoubtedly caused social and economic hardship across all American communities, with effects sharpest in low-income communities and among Black and Hispanic people. Over 22 million jobs were lost during the first three months of the pandemic in 2020. Poverty rates were 3.1 percent higher at the end of 2020 as compared to 2019 with poverty rates estimated to be more than double as high for Black and Hispanic Americans as for Whites (ASPE, April 2021).

Below are some comparisons of how the COVID-19 related economic recession has impacted BIPOC, low income communities, and Whites:

• Job loss:
  low-wage workers (less than $27,000/year) lost jobs at 5 times the rate of middle-wage workers ($27,000 - $60,000/year) (ASPE, September 2021).
• Food insecurity:
  19 percent of Black households reported struggling to have enough food for the week. 21 percent of Hispanic households reported struggling to have enough food for the week, compared to 8 percent of White households. 42 percent of low income households, 36 percent youth, and 31 percent of households with children were food insufficient.
• Housing burdens:
  22 percent of Black and 20 percent of Hispanic renters struggled with affording rent, compared to 9 percent of White renters.
• Child care:
  child care centers have closed or reduced enrollment, putting pressure on low-income families, as well as on the child care workforce.
• Financial support:
  BIPOC were less likely to receive unemployment insurance than Whites. Some received Economic Impact Payments from the CARES Act more slowly or not at all. (ASPE, April 2021)

We are stepping up our game now and in 2022 at AACF. Thanks to a $3000 donation from the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation we will be providing up to $100 worth of food and toiletries to 10 low income elderly and people with disabilities as well as a financial donation to a local food pantry during the month of December. Our Strategic Plan for 2022 includes increasing our low income youth program participation by and additional 20%, providing an additional 216 supportive services (increased from this year’s 1082 total) to our low income clients, placing an additional 48 youth in jobs (increased from this year’s 240), and providing supportive services to an additional 11 working single mothers (increased from 56 this year).

We serve low income community members from Chicago West Side, Chicago South Side, and Suburban Cook County. During 2021 89% of our clients have been Black, 10% Hispanic, and 56% are women. We are increasing our impact now and through 2022 to combat the damaging effects of the COVID-19 economic recession on our low income community members, BIPOC, women, and youth. Be a part of our mission: to train and assist low income residents of Cook County, enable them to acquire skills, while actively fostering economic opportunity and communal stability.

Consider joining our mission in the following ways!

References

Many of us grew up hearing that we needed to study hard, go to college and get a good job. That might have been true in the 20^th century, but things have changed over the past two decades—and not necessarily for the better. Today, the average college student has about $27,000 to $36,000 in student loan debt, and it’s even worse for people who pursue graduate degrees.

That’s a lot of money—in fact, it’s an unfathomable amount to most. What’s worse is that a college degree doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a job, let alone one that can pay your bills, especially as more people compete for a finite number of positions.

So, what’s the solution? Workforce development in Illinois is the best way to train workers so they’ll not only survive, but be able to thrive in the workforce. Whether that means developing skills or polishing the ones you already have, you can always stand to bring more to the table. Take the opportunity to make yourself a desirable candidate by enrolling in a workforce development program near you.

Workforce development programs

The African American Christian Foundation is proud to offer workforce development and training programs. We know that having a steady and stable job is the key to economic freedom and security, so we make sure that we help people find a vocation that suits them—and train them in the skills they need to survive. We offer both one- and four-week programs, designed to get you ready to apply to, interview at and succeed with jobs in your skill set. We also offer career counseling so you can explore your options under the tutelage of an experienced, compassionate counselor.

Our work doesn’t stop there, however. In addition to helping you find a job, we also make sure you’re able to succeed after you’re hired. Our team offers workshops on workplace readiness, life skills, personal finance, personal responsibility, coping with challenges, resume writing, job searching, interview readiness, basic computer literacy, Microsoft Office, GED preparation, technical skills attainment, higher education placement, internships and on-the-job and vocational training. In other words, we don’t abandon you after you’re hired—we want you to succeed in your new position, and we do our best to give you the tools to do so.

Not only do we help you get hired and stay employed, but we do our best to match you with jobs that are in demand, have room for growth and will be the beginning of a beautiful career—there’s no shame in minimum-wage labor, but we want to help you do more and be more. Whether you start out as a fast food service worker or have great career qualifications, we want to see you succeed.

To learn more about our workforce development programs in Illinois, reach out to us right away. The African American Christian Foundation is eager to help you get a job you deserve so you’ll be on the path to a successful and stable career in a field you find fulfilling. We look forward to working with you.

Not everyone is lucky enough to earn a high school diploma, which can significantly impact their ability to get a job and earn a living wage. When you’re working full-time or more without good compensation, it’s even harder to take the time to work toward your degree. That’s where high school completion programs in Illinois come in—they can help teen and adult learners alike earn their high school and college diplomas, setting them up for success later in life.

What is a high school completion program?

High school completion programs, at their most basic, help students earn the credits they need to graduate from high school—but some take it a step further and offer you the ability to earn university credit at the same time. That means you have the opportunity to earn high school and college credits, both applicable toward your graduation requirements, simultaneously.

Earning a college degree faster (and at the same time as your high school diploma) has a number of benefits, but one of the most important is that working adults naturally have less time to devote to studies. If you’ve decided to go back to school to improve your life and job prospects, high school completion programs can help you get higher education credit in Illinois. You’ll save time and money over the long run, and will enjoy greater career success over the long term.

Oftentimes, high school completion programs offer a number of classes that also count toward an associate’s degree at a community college. When the student is done with their high school classes, they’ll be able to enroll at the community college with a number of college credits underneath their belt already. Once they earn an associate’s degree, they can then transfer to a four-year college for a bachelor’s degree.

How do high school completion programs benefit the community?

Here’s a closer look at some of the community benefits of high school completion programs in Illinois:

• High school graduates earn more: High school graduates tend to earn about 50 percent more than high school dropouts over the course of their lifetimes. Most of us can’t support ourselves on a minimum wage income, which is usually what a high school dropout can expect to earn—if you want to make enough to live on, you need a diploma.
• High school graduates are less likely to be unemployed: High school graduates have a much lower unemployment rate. If you didn’t graduate, you’re twice as likely to be without a job at any given time.
• Increasing high school graduation rates increases tax revenue: Studies have shown that if we increase the high school graduation rate from the average of 73 percent to 90 percent, tax revenue would increase by over 100 percent. Investing in your education is a way to invest in the community.
• Local graduates fund local programs: The more money, time and expertise you can funnel into the community, the better local programs for high school completion tend to fare.

Are you interested in higher education programs in Illinois? Contact the African American Christian Foundation today to learn more about how we can assist you.