Found: My Herd

This week we did a podcast on Blog Talk Radio that was all about the job seeker. Our goal with the show was to get our "tribe" to talk to one another, ask questions, get answers and share experiences. I think for round one, we succeeded.

My favorite line from the might was when Mindy said that through her seasonal jobs in Alaska, she finally "found her herd." She found her people. She found folks that got her and she got them. What a gift to be where you belong.

That kind of story just makes me smile, especially in this day and age where there are so many false expectations that to be successful, one has to climb the corporate ladder, make a lot of money, live in a big city, and so on, and so on. That may be true for some, but certainly not for all. Everyone needs to find out for themselves what is right for them.

Our belief at Cool Works is that life changing and satisfying experiences can be found in a summer job in a great place. Perhaps that summer job may lead to a full-time career. Perhaps it will only be one summer in a long life of doing other things. Perhaps it may be the best thing that person ever does. Perhaps not. But, no matter the experience, good or bad, or otherwise, it takes guts to try and be out of one's comfort zone, trusting that all experiences will benefit whichever path one takes.

So to you, the reader, what are you going to do this summer? Is a summer job in your future?

Jobs in Texas Get Funding to Go Green

Funding for green training will ultimately result in the creation of jobs in Texas.

Officials recently announced that the State of Texas will receive $4.8 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to train workers to fill jobs in the renewable energy industry. The funding will be used under the Central Texas plan, which is meant to create a thriving green energy economy throughout the central portion of the state.

Overall, about 1,000 workers will be trained on how to install solar panels at solar power plants in Austin and San Antonio. The training will be offered through the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee.

The JATC is sponsored by the Central Texas Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the IBEW Local Union Number 520, a branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

IBEW will offer the apprenticeships in conjunction with the Austin Workforce Investment Board, which operates through the Department of Labor, and ImagineSolar LLC, which offers solar consulting and training services.

The money given to Central Texas is part of $100 million in federal funding for green jobs training that will be distributed to 25 entities throughout the nation that offer the most potential for using renewable energy skills or have suffered the greatest economic impact.

Other locations are receiving awards that amount to anywhere from $1.4 million to $5 million. Some of those locations include: $5 million to the State of Massachusetts; $3.87 million to the State of Washington; $3.2 million to the State of Missouri; $4.99 million to the AFL-CIO Utility Workers Union of America in California and Massachusetts; and $5 million to the Blue Green Alliance of Minnesota.