Girls Rock!

Our clients sometimes wonder how we keep our programs and services so relevant and meaningful at New Directions Career Center. Our process is simple – we have our finger on the pulse of current trends in society and in the continuously evolving workplace. Our passion is for the careers of women, so we translate any and all new trends to decipher how they will affect women and their career needs.

When the Center started in 1980, divorce rates in the United States were reaching an all-time high. There was no mandated child support enforcement at the time, and many women facing a new life on their own hadn’t worked outside the home in many years, if at all. We created programs to help these displaced homemakers develop a career plan for themselves and expand their skills through training and education. Our clients were then prepared to enter the workforce at pay levels necessary for women who were now the primary breadwinners of their families.

In the mid eighties, the number of single parent households increased to over 7 million (as reported by the US Census Bureau). Most single parents were (and continue to be today) women. This, combined with increased awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence, brought us to develop programming focused on more options for mothers who are single. We partnered with hospitals and shelters to help women create new lives for themselves and their children.

The 1990’s and recent years have brought more displaced professionals to our attention and led the Center to create and refresh programs like Creating Career Options and Advanced Career Techniques to meet the needs of this population.

More recently, we have seen seasoned workers over the age of 50 returning to the workforce.  The reasons vary, though often has roots in the current economic reality: needing medical/prescription drug insurance, insufficient retirement funds, unexpectedly faced with raising grandchildren, etc. Computer literacy programming has helped immensely to bring our clients up-to-date on the computer skills they need to be competitive in today’s workforce, to network online, and to get those digitally-based jobs.

These are examples of how the Center has continued to identify and respond to changes in the economy and the workplace – strategically modifying our approach to help women manage and advance professionally. As the glass ceiling continues to slowly crack, the number of women in management increases, and more women are employed in jobs previously dominated by men – women and the skills they bring to the table will change business in a much more proactive way.  Women are adept at managing shrinking budgets and shifting markets. Women know how to listen to employees and our customers and glean what is important to change. In the June 2011 issue of Harvard Business Review, researchers published their observations that work teams actually got smarter as the percentage of women on a team increased. Then there is the much-referenced Miller-McCune research essay that showed a correlation between profitability of the Fortune 500 and women in executive positions.

Women are doing more than entering the workforce and providing for our families  – we are changing the face of the U.S. economy!  NDCC is continually examining and learning from the experiences and insights of these women leaders, as well as our clients. We will continue to develop and provide programs and services to prepare women not only for the jobs of today, but of tomorrow as well.

Financial Literacy for Women

I’ve witnessed for myself the power of financial literacy. Women who learn to manage their finances tap into something deep within themselves and discover a limitless reservoir of strength, confidence, and courage. This inner power helps us develop financial confidence and achieve our financial potential; it is instrumental in helping us to become financially independent. Financial literacy ultimately enables us to control our own destiny.

There are tangible skills that New Directions Career Center teaches our clients, like tracking expenditures, budgeting for the future, living within means, prioritizing debt repayment to minimize interest, and maximizing the benefit of each dollar for them and their families. Many of our clients are rebuilding their lives from scratch; some even have to make a choice between feeding their children and heating their homes. Each situation is unique, and we help each client to begin where she is in the current moment. The emphasis is on how to live right now and to set achievable short and long term goals with steps to work consistently and continuously toward reaching those aspirations.

More fundamentally though, at NDCC we help our clients to change their relationship with money. Most of those who seek us out are having financial difficulty, and that is a frightening and all-encompassing situation for anyone. It is hard to really see where we are financially when we are afraid to look -- for fear that it is even worse than we thought. Maybe it is worse, usually it isn’t, but facing the situation head-on is exactly what is needed to start controlling it, instead of letting it control us. Through improved financial literacy, New Directions Career Center helps women to do just that.

Of course, earning more money makes life easier. As a result, NDCC encourages and supports our clients to develop a career plan and work towards attaining employment that satisfies professional interests and provides a livable wage. However, it is when participants in our classes begin to understand how their money works for them that life changes are set in motion. When money is seen as the tool that it is, we can put it in its proper place in our lives, stop letting it define who we are, and then use it to achieve economic independence.

Thakor, Manisha, "Shocking Statistics on Women & Retirement," Forbes, February 18, 2011