Goodwill Program: Basic PC Skills Training and Customer Service Call Center Training

“Job Connection helps people so much. If it hadn’t been for Job Connection, I wouldn’t have the job I have now.”

Mention the word computer to Kathy and she will talk about it like it’s a phobia.

“I was scared of the computer; scared to touch it,” the 53-year-old Gastonia resident explains.

Kathy knew she had to overcome that fear if she was going to work again. She was away from the workforce for six years following the death of her lifetime partner and father of her daughter.

That workforce had drastically changed. It was a computer workforce now. If she wanted to find a job, apply for one or ultimately get hired, computers skills were a must.

She turned to Goodwill’s Gaston County Job Connection for help – a place she credits for giving her the confidence and computer skills she needed to get two jobs.

At Goodwill, she recieved counsling on developing a resume and interview skills.
Kathy took a four-week computer class in 2007, which helped her secure a position at the online photo store Shutterfly – a funny coincidence considering it was a job that required her to work with the computers she once feared.

“I loved photography as a hobby. Every day, you can go all over the world looking at pictures,” Kathy says.

Kathy was laid off at the end of 2007 and knew her next stop: back to the Job Connection.

This time, Kathy enrolled in a four-week Customer Service Call Center training course at the Job Connection.

Kathy used Goodwill computers to access the internet and work on her resume.
She was then hired in 2008 at Kmart to work in the shoe department, utilizing her new customer service skills.

“Job Connection helps people so much. If it hadn’t been for Job Connection, I wouldn’t have the job I have now,” says Kathy, who got married in 2006. 

“It feels great having money come in. I feel like I’m helping out. It’s a personal feeling to help my family and myself.”

Her advice to anyone who is discouraged about finding a job: “Don’t give up. There are resources for everyone to use.”

Graduating from Goodwill’s Customer Service Call Center class turned out to be a triple achievement. Not only did she graduate and get a job, she was the graduation class speaker.

“It was the first time I had spoken in front of a group in my life. I was proud of myself. It was like overcoming a fear,” Kathy says.