Glenford Smith | A good paying job
Published:Sunday | February 9, 2020 | 12:00 AM
QUESTION: I am doing a certificate course at the HEART Trust/NTA in the field of data operations. Do persons who graduate from a HEART Trust institution get a good paying job, especially those in my field? I’m concerned because I don’t want to sit down with the certificate and cannot get a job with it when I am finished. – Coley D.
CAREERS: Thank you for that question, because it has a hidden misunderstanding that I think many other people share, but of which they are ignorant. In my opinion, you have the wrong concept, Coley. You are labouring under a misperception that will be dealt with shortly.
My first question to you is: What do you mean by “a good paying job”? A good paying job to a certificate graduate in data operations from HEART Trust/NTA is debatable. Your idea of a good paying job may differ from another person’s.
Graduates from HEART Trust/NTA, University of the West Indies, UWI, University of Technology Jamaica, or UTech, and the various tertiary institutions need not fear that another will get a good deal and them not. Their compensation is in line with the training – the duration, the difficulty, the cost, etc – they undergo. But with regard to your question, bear the following in mind.
HEART Trust/NTA was uniquely started to cater to students who didn’t finish high school. It was also for high school graduates without the requisite number of passes to matriculate to a tertiary institution, or someone who wanted to focus specifically on the practical, hands-on training that you couldn’t get at other institutions. It is an excellent avenue for many Jamaicans to get into the employment market fully trained in one of the many areas that HEART Trust/NTA focuses on.
I will deal with the deeper implications of your question now though, why I say you have the wrong concept. You say your concern stems from your desire not to sit at home and do nothing, when you are finished. That is a valid concern.
But once you get the training, whether or not you sit at home and do nothing is entirely up to you. Work on yourself – your communications skills, interviewing skills, your networking skills – so that employers will find you an asset to their business. This is the misunderstanding and misperception that I spoke of at the beginning of the article.
You may be under the impression that the chance of landing good employment resides in your certification, but this is a fantasy. Employment does not depend on the degree or certificate that one has. It depends on you. You imbue your certification with employability by your relentlessness, enthusiasm, creativity and desire.
Think also of what you’d love to do after you’ve finished the course and obtained the certificate. Do you want to pursue a first degree in the same field or in another field? Don’t concern yourself so much about the compensation.
In life, what you need is an opportunity, which your HEART Trust certification is giving you. Be careful of putting the cart before the horse.
Glenford Smith is president of CareerBiz Coach and author of From Problems to Power and Profile of Excellence.