Tip of the Hat to Grandview

In the continuing series of The Perks of Being Unemployed (ok-technically this is only the second post on that topic so perhaps it not yet an official series), I gotta tip my hat to Grandview. They generously offered to waive tuition for all the Summer sessions for everybody who was laid off. I'm not aware of any other local university/college who made such a generous offer.
Unfortunately, there were no IT classes on the Summer schedule, but I jumped into an Investments class. Have been to several sessions now and gotta say that I'm really enjoying being back in the classroom. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the intellectual challenge of studying a new subject.
The instructor is great. He uses a very practical and real-world approach to the material. It feels a tiny bit odd being in class with all young people, but they probably think that it is a bit odd being in class with me and we all make a dynamic group with diverse views.
Taking a class (even a free class) is not as good as landing a new position and the course is taking a little more time than I was expecting, but I still think that this endeavor is well worth the time (and definitely better than crab fishing).
I have no idea whether Grandview will continue the program in the Fall, but if they do I would highly recommend taking a class.

--
Mike
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Frustration (part 2)

I served as a Captain in the US Army. So I have tremendous respect for the people that serve in the military and that respect extends to (almost all) the people that serve in other government positions. However, I'm frequently dismayed at the processes/operations of government. The latest example is the Dislocated Worker program run by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). A friend told me about this program in April and while I really did not have high expectations, I sent an email to "S". Then I called to make an appointment because it is prohibited to apply online [Fail] or even via snail mail!!! After leaving a VM, I eventually got a return call and I was told that the earliest appointment that I could get was 5 weeks out (too late to register for the Summer session at the colleges) [Fail]. And that was only if I was willing to drive 45 minutes to Perry. If I wanted to meet with IWD in Des Moines, then it'd be 10 weeks out instead of 5 weeks. [Fail].
In an interesting coincidence I met "M" from IWD at the Net2Work meeting on May 18 and asked if there was any way to see somebody sooner. He took my card and told me that it should not be a problem and that he would have somebody from his office call me later in that week. Never heard from anybody. [Fail]. Then several folks from the IWD were the featured speakers at the Net2Work session on June 01. "S" provided some details on the DW program. The presentation was impressive and I became seriously excited. "S" mentioned that she had $600K and half was earmarked for the Dislocated Workers program. And that it was intended for people just like those of us in the room (the other $300K was more targeted to other groups). Somebody (Ben?) asked if the qualified training was just classes at the local community colleges or if leadership seminars/technical training/etc. was re-imbursable. And the answer was that they should be if the provider was already on the approved provider list and if not, providers could be added. But the process to add them typically takes months. But that IWD has had expedited additions in weeks if not days. Now, my expectations were raised and I was stoked about this program. And only had to wait 2 more weeks to meet with an advisor. So, my appointment finally arrived. Hooray. The first thing that I found out was that the DW program had no money. They were broke until July. [Fail]

What I am most interested in was getting re-imbursed for PMP certification. Not on the list. [Fail]. Apparently nobody has ever wanted to use this program to obtain PMP certification? [Sarcasm=on] Since that would obviously never make anybody more employable. [/Sarcasm=off]

I am also interested in in-depth DBA training from Oracle. Not on the provider list. [Fail]. Or even a seminar on the latest trends in Business Intelligence software. Not on the list. [Fail]. And my advisor was not at all confident that any of the things that I was interested in could be approved in less than months. [Fail]. But he is going to look into it. Obviously, this program is intended for entry level and assembly line positions and I understand that workers in these kinds of positions need such a program. Clearly, the state of Iowa is interested in retaining workers for such positions and as Rick Warren reminded me--life is not just about me. But it would seem like Iowa would want to keep knowledge workers and senior people with extensive experience just as much. And given the severity of this Recession, it would seem to make sense to expedite changes to the program to address the unique circumstances we find ourselves in?

Since this is the 2nd post on frustrations, I do want to also provide a counterbalance lest I leave you with the wrong impression. My life is NOT all frustration. A friend reminded me recently that it is easy for us, as humans, to focus too much on what we do not have or are missing and totally forget about all that we do have. So... I am enjoying taking a walk each morning with my teenage daughter. I appreciate that Grandview is offering free tuition to those of us that are unemployed and I plan to take them upon their offer in the second session (the entire registration process was one quick form, a fax and a follow-up email). I have met many many great people through all of this networking (and am adding themn to LinkedIn, etc.). I have enjoyed volunteering at the food pantry in Waukee ...

Finally, I know that IWD does much good (so I do not want to seem like a hater). They are re-architecting their delivery model which should address at least some of the failures listed above. However, for me and at this point in time, the DW program just did not seem very helpful.

--Mike

Original story that WHO-TV did on me: Iowa Job Seekers