Every day I get letters from people saying that they are behind the curve in computer literacy. Maybe they knew QuickBooks, Excel and other programs ten years ago, but the skills they have now won’t get them a job in today’s world.

The problem is that they want new, shiny skills that will make them a good fit for a good job, but they don’t want to pay a lot of money for those skills. Sure they could go to Lone Star College at any one of their 7 campuses or their online campus, but they think they don’t have the time, or it’s more than they can spend right now. They could go to Houston Community College (HCC) and take classes at one of their 21 campuses instead. Let me assure you that both Lone Star and HCC have the classes you need at prices that you can afford. You will definitely get a great education in whatever technology you need to master in order to get hired. In addition, employers respect the certifications that you get from either of those institutions.

Both colleges have great financial assistance packages, scholarships, work study programs, grants and loans. If you are a Veteran (thank you for serving our country), you have some excellent benefits that can help pay for college hours.

Sometimes the requirements for a job are where you need to concentrate. If you are seeing lots of jobs where you need a specific program to even apply for the job, you probably need only one or two classes instead of a whole semester. That kind of short term training can give you the confidence you need to succeed in your job search.

Have you checked out Harris County Public Libraries (www.hcpl.net)? You may be in Ft. Bend County (fortbend.lib.tx.us) or Waller County (hempstead.ploud.net) or Galveston County (everylibrary.com/county/Galveston-TX.html). If you’re in a different county, find your closest library. Go to their events and programs page to see what FREE training they are offering. Ft. Bend County offers classes in Excel, basic computer training, resume writing, English as a Second Language and more. HCPL has training in all of those things plus French and Spanish classes. Go online to check or call the library to see what is currently being offered.

The best way to get an overview of all of these FREE classes and training is to go to JobSparx.com/Events or just click on the events calendar at JobSparx.com. I’ll bet you’ll be surprised to see all of the cool stuff that we list. For instance the Houston Area Urban League has a program called Job Club that offers soft skills training. You get lots of support.

WorkFaith Connection has an 8 day workshop and has trained more than 4,700 people in job search skills. They have 4 locations around Houston and 78% of the people who graduate the workshop find jobs!! That’s huge! You can go to their website: http://workfaithconnection.org/ to sign up. Just tell them that you saw their information at JobSparx. That way you make me happy at the same time that you make yourself happy.

 
Now that you see how easy it is to get trained, what’s stopping you? If you are going to tell me that you don’t have the time, you can’t do it, or you just don’t want to do it, I’m going to tell you that your future is in your own hands. Overcome that fear of new things and get the job you want. It’s up to you!!