Learning

Advantages Of Online Learning It’s the time of year when people look back on 2018 and begin planning their training needs for 2019. To any business, knowledge is its greatest asset and the biggest key to achieving business goals. How can you better prepare your teams to perform in a highly competitive environment? Through training. During our in person events, we often hear questions about how to start a business, should I start a non-profit, do you know a good CPA, who is good at raising funds? In 2019, we are committed to providing you with online resources. We reviewed many online learning platforms, took the courses ourselves and are now offering online courses. Check out our on-line course tab on our website. All courses… • are designed for a wide array of learners • combine interactive exercises, videos, and real-world examples or case studies • provides access to an expert in a related field who will answer your questions within 24-hours—through “Ask the Expert” feature • have been approved for CFRE and/or CEU credits among others • are available 24/7 via the Mobile app What are the top 5 benefits of on-line learning? 1. You can learn whatever you want! With online education, you can take any program or course present in traditional four-year universities. For example, let’s say you’re mostly interested in starting a non profit or growing your for – profit business. All it takes is a Google search for such online course, and you’ll easily find the online programs offered by some of the most prestigious universities from all around the world. The great variety of online programs and courses is a huge advantage of this type of education. It doesn’t matter where you live and what you want to study – you can always find a suitable course or even a degree program that you can follow from home. 2. Comfort. Forget about attending classes for hours, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, and suffering from back pain by the end of the day. You will not be bound to physical class session when you opt for online education. All lectures and needed materials are provided via online platforms, so you’ll easily access them from the comfort of your home. 3. Online courses look great on a resume. It doesn’t matter where your career stands at this moment; an online program will always look good on your resume. It will show potential employers that you’re committed to learning and you’re eager to obtain more knowledge and new skills. 4. Self-paced...

Today’s episode of Coffee With focuses on careers, specifically career building and training. Joining our discussion is Mrs. Valerie Njie, the Executive Director and Senior Vice President of Bidwell Training Center (BTC). Bidwell Training Center is a non-profit career training school that has been changing people’s lives since 1968. At Bidwell, Mrs. Njie is part of an amazing organization that equips students with superb skills that can lead them to meaningful employment and empower them to become more confident, productive, and professional. Bidwell Training Center has almost 50 years of experience providing top-of-the-line career training and consistently attracts national attention for their innovative training programs. Beyond that, Bidwell Training Center is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges and is a member of over 10 national and regional professional organizations. The majors offered at BTC provide learners with the hands-on skillsets they need to be prepared and competitive in the marketplace. Mrs. Njie has committed decades towards serving the Pittsburgh community and enriching the lives of others. In 2014, she was elected to serve as School Commissioner by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). Mrs. Njie has been one of the ACCSC’s most active volunteers, and was selected as Volunteer of the Year in 2009. Beyond that, she has been honored with the 2009 Duquesne Light African American Leadership Award for Education as well as a 2006 Women of Influence designation from the New Pittsburgh Courier. Mrs. Njie’s outstanding dedication to the Pittsburgh community was most recently recognized in 2015 when she received the University of Pittsburgh’s Volunteer Excellence Award. The award annually recognizes Pitt alumni who have enriched the lives of others through extraordinary efforts in the...

  Pittsburgh has an abundance of talented entrepreneurs and innovative startups. Joining us today on Coffee With is Kelly Collier, founder and CEO of ActivAided Orthotics, a medical device startup that produces flexible, supportive posture-correcting clothing. ActivAided has revolutionized the traditional medical brace into a product that allows for non-restrictive therapy, providing impressive support and rehabilitation without sacrificing flexibility or comfort. Collier launched the company from the ground up, their product initially developed for her senior project at Carnegie Mellon. ActivAided first saw development in the form of a class project for Collier, a then Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering student at CMU. An avid swimmer, Collier’s back pain problems became the catalyst for the project which was developed by a physician Dr. Gary Chimes, Collier and her peers as a senior project at Carnegie Mellon University. Unlike her classmates, Collier gave herself additional homework when she incorporated the assignment into a post-graduate business. Since founding ActivAvided Orthotics, Collier has become a specialist in commercializable product development and has expertise in all stages of the process. Whether it be design, manufacturing, scalability, or distribution, Collier possesses the business prowess to efficiently tackle any aspect of business growth and operations. Collier’s efforts enabled her to collect honors as the U. S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Western Pennsylvania Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Kevin White, Pittsburgh SBA district director, commented that Collier is an entrepreneur who identified the solution to a problem. He said, “Her back problems led her to turn this project into a business that helps correct posture in a non-restrictive form.” Collier’s transformation from student to entrepreneur is characteristic of the incredibly innovative business environment in Pittsburgh. Want to learn more about the origins, development, and lessons learned from ActivAided? Tune into this episode of Coffee With. Since this blog post and video the company was acquired by...

U can B teaching Students – As students graduate and enter an increasingly competitive job market, academic success alone is not enough to ensure a successful career. Employers are searching for the “soft skills”–those traits that are so vital to interpersonal relationships, cooperation with coworkers, and customer satisfaction. These skills include things like communication, problem solving, time management, leadership, working on a team, a strong work ethic, maintaining a professional appearance, and more. “The guest speakers from the U. Can. B Program are a lot of fun! They give us more options for career choices, as well as present real life experiences to the topic.” “I enjoy listening to the speakers and asking questions. They are interesting and informative.” Frequently, students are lacking in this vital preparation for the responsibilities and realities of the work world. This handicaps them in their future job searches by reducing their employability, and impacting their ability to function well in an office environment or retain a job. By providing opportunities for students to practice these important personal interactions, problem solving processes, communication cycles, and other key skills, educators can help lay a foundation for future success in the work world. “The guest speakers are nice and they do not make me feel like I cannot own my own business in the future. Everyone is not meant to go to college, and I now feel confident that I can do something else to make a living when I am an adult.” “The guest speakers make sure the students understand what they are presenting.” “I look forward to the next workshop. Can someone present more often ?” Big Ideas U can B teaches related to Career Readiness ● Interpersonal skills are just as important as subject area knowledge to creating and maintaining a successful career. ● Continuing to learn and grow in your personal life can lead to both a successful career and greater satisfaction in your life. ● Leadership, communication, problem solving, and time management are vital for any career....

U can B taught at East Liberty, Erie, Wexford, Allentown, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg. Each Thursday from 3 to 4 p.m. over a 15-week period that began Jan. 15, participants gathered at seven PA Cyber support centers and satellite offices across the state for live, interactive online sessions on specific topics including entrepreneurship, website and graphic design, government and politics, jobs in the “green” sector, film, and trade careers. The live online sessions in this series originated from PA Cyber’s office in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty business district. They were streamed using Google software to offices at Greensburg, Erie, Wexford, Allentown, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg. Hissam and Brian Boothby, a facilitator in the gifted-talented program, are simultaneously streamed the sessions to other PA Cyber students at home on their laptops, using the same Collaborate meeting software students use to attend their regular PA Cyber virtual classes. In the second session, for example, Tom Kubilius of Bally Designs of Pittsburgh explained what entrepreneurship is, what entrepreneurs have in common, choices to be made in starting a business, creating a business plan, what a small business looks like, and why having a passion for what you do is important.   Jill Valentine, Director of Admissions and Marketing, 724.888-7814,...

U can B a healthcare employee with Adagio Health and Jefferson Hospital.  Great information for students and all the students who wanted to volunteer over the summer were able to get volunteer positions. The U can B solution The U can B Curriculum is tailored to meet your school’s needs, and allows each curriculum component to be expanded or contracted to fit within a specific number of weeks based on the strengths and weaknesses of the class. Classes included in the U can B curriculum include: • Entrepreneurship • Trades and Careers in the Trades • Website design and SEO • Film and TV • Green and Sustainable • Politics • Healthcare • and More! The U can B program provides a unique interactive classroom environment that utilizes “Google Live Stream Technology” in a partnership with Google. The program further engages the students with our proprietary Coffee With Film series, which showcases industry leaders and politicians with a variety of insight in those careers. The program is further augmented with In person speakers and experts that share real world experiences and advice in career development and planning. Finally, U can B’s Student Goal Tracker Software with Smart Technology connects each student with matched company profiles, internship opportunities and unique access to industry...