Career Coaches Findings and Observations MP4 Video Consortium for Healthcare Education Online Career Coach Professional Development Webinar June 16, 2014. Round 1 TAACCCT.

In 2011, Colorado received a three-year, $17.3-million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant from the United States Department of Labor. Although not the primary goals of this grant, two perhaps less explicit goals were to increase rates of student retention and to facilitate students’ transition from degree and career and technical education (CTE) certificate programs into the job market. Similar to the CHEO initiative, each college participating in the Colorado Online Energy Training Consortium (COETC) initiative was to employ a career coach to: • Guide students through career exploration and present energy training opportunities. • Advise and support students as they complete development education needed to succeed in the energy programs. • Help students navigate the college’s processes. • Provide referrals and support for nonacademic issues. In 2013, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations’ Education and Employment Research center (EERC), the third-party evaluator, completed a report on the role of these career coaches in the COETC grant. This research looks closely at the differing role of the career coach at each consortium college, the promising practices that emerged from the career coach position, and some of the challenges encountered by coaches. The report also makes some recommendations for the career coach role. McKay and Edwards, from Rutgers EERC, presents report findings. One of the COETC career coaches also shares her experiences and lessons learned. One of the COETC initiative’s two primary goals is similar in scope to the overarching goal of the CHEO initiative. That COETC goal is to enhance energy-related programming in the state through the transformation of curricula into more accessible formats using technology and mobile learning labs. Heather McKay, Renée Edwards, and Laura Aycock delivered this professional development webinar on June 16, 2014 to Consortium for Healthcare Education Online (CHEO) career coaches. About the Presenters: Heather A. McKay is the director of innovative training and workforce development evaluation research and programs at the School of Management and Labor Relations' Education and Employment Research Center, Rutgers University. In this capacity McKay conducts research and evaluations and provides technical assistance on state and federal workforce development and education systems and policies. McKay’s research interests include workforce development, college completion, workplace literacy, and innovative and technology-based training programs. She also specializes in evaluating education and workforce development programs. Renée Edwards is a research project manager for the School of Management and Labor Relations' Education and Employment Research Center, Rutgers University. She is a doctoral candidate in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at Washington State University. Edwards specializes in policy implementation and evaluation and applies this to research in workforce development, higher education, and feminist policy analysis. Edwards is originally from the west coast (Washington and Alaska) and moved to the east coast in 2011. Laura Aycock is a career coach at Red Rocks Community College. Aycock has over ten year’s experience in job training working with populations from youth to women with limited to no job skills to adult learners in college. Her expertise includes career exploration, soft skill training, resume development, mock interviews, and facilitation of workshops focused in all areas of career development. In an effort to gain more education and pursue other career interests, Aycock pursued her M.S. in Organizational Development with a focus in Human Resource Management from Colorado State University-Global Campus. Additionally, she holds a B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences with a concentration in child family social services.