Do you need to spend four years in school to get a job? For years, people have heard that the best way to get a fulfilling career was to go to a traditional four-year school and graduate with a degree.
The thinking has shifted in recent years, though, particularly as numerous vacancies in critical jobs have gone unfilled. Skills-based or knowledge-based, training aims to get people into positions as soon as possible by teaching them the specific skills they’ll need to excel in a career.
If you’ve been unsure about what to do with your life or would like to make a career change, without having to get an expensive college degree, a skills-based training program might be right for you.
What Is the Meaning of Skills-Based Training?
Skills-based training means that you learn the specific skills you’ll need to perform the tasks associated with a career during your training program.
For example, if you sign up for a skills-based welding program, you’ll learn how to be a saw operator, how to work as a welder’s helper, and how to stay safe when welding.
If you enroll in a skills-based phlebotomy program, you’ll learn how to collect blood specimens, how to prepare samples, and how maintain specimen integrity.
If you enroll in a skills-based Microsoft Office program, you’ll learn how to use each application in the suite, such as Excel, Word, and Outlook.
Once you complete a skills-based training program, you’ll be able to translate what you learned to the workplace.
What Are the Benefits of Skills Development?
Skills-based training and skills development offers multiple benefits. Notably, it can help get you on the fast track to a new career. If you’re not happy with your current job or want to earn more, enrolling in a skills-based program can mean that you’re prepared to start a new career in a matter of months.
Skills-based training can also help you move up the career ladder in a field you’re already in. For example, you can take advanced courses to develop your hard skills or to improve areas where you currently struggle. Some employers require employees to take skills-based courses to get promotions or raises.
Additionally, skills-based training can give you that extra edge when it comes to landing a job. Taking courses that teach you specific skills, whether it’s manufacturing skills or software-related ones can make you a more attractive candidate for certain roles.
Skills-based training offers financial benefits as well, particularly if you decide to pursue it in lieu of a four-year degree. It’s often much more cost-effective to sign up for a skills-based program than it is to enroll in a four-year program. If the demand in the field you want to pursue is particularly high, you might even be able to complete your training for free, due to grant funding.
Skills-Based Programs to Consider
Orange Technical College offers a wide range of skill-based programs, designed to teach you what you need to know to break into a career or move up in one.
Some of the programs we offer include:
- Construction basics: Designed for people with no prior construction experience, the construction basics program teaches you how to use hand and power tools, perform construction math, and read blueprints. At the program’s end, you’ll be ready for an entry-level position in construction.
- Long-term Care CNA: Certified nursing assistants in long-term care settings are responsible for bathing patients and administering certain medications. You’ll learn those skills in the program and will be ready to take the state CNA exam at the end.
- Microsoft Office Bundle: The MS Office bundle teaches you how to use MS office products. At the end of the course, you’ll be able to create and save documents in Word, send and receive emails in Outlook, and create tables and charts. You’ll also be ready to sit for the MS certification exam at the course’s end.
- Phlebotomy: Phlebotomists take blood samples for lab work and testing. The phlebotomy program teaches you how to take and handle samples and prepares you for the Certified Phlebotomy Technician exam. You can take the exam on campus at the course’s end.
- Welding: Orange Technical College offers several skills-based welding programs, for people with no prior welding experience and for welders who want to add to their skills and expertise.
Skills-based training programs get you into a new career or let you advance your career as soon as possible. Contact Orange Technical College today to learn more about our skills-based programs and how to get started.