Kathy Gregory touts the excellence of O*NET Online as much for "negative" information as for "positive" information. If you ever have had to lead clients/students/customers/consumers through a reality check, you understand.
Kathy is Vocational Evaluator with the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Program of Tennessee. A stand-alone program, commissioned by the Tennessee General Assembly, TBI is the only residential, comprehensive, state rehabilitation program that is free for the patient. Kathy works with patients as they proceed through a two-week evaluation period, which includes a four-day assessment of their readiness for an individualized seven-month vocational preparedness program. During the evaluation, patients work with all kinds of therapists. They see psychologists, vocational evaluators, rehabilitation counselors—every appropriate expert. Kathy helps students reach the point where they have an idea of what occupation they want to prepare for. Thus, O*NET is a superb "dose of reality" tool, as she works with students.
"I have to be very creative in how I do an assessment," Kathy explains. "Many of the folks I see are now looking at entry level employment. Using O*NET helps me help students make more realistic choices. I see students who watch a lot of television and think those "glamorized jobs" are for them. They say they want to be a CSI or something. O*Net helps inform them about the realities of employment.
"Today the processes are so easy and fast, thanks to O*NET Online. I was taught the old way of doing a crosswalk from jobs to occupations and doing transfer-of-skills analysis. You had to look up SVPs and KSAs, and transfer everything to match everything. Years ago, it took many hours or days just doing skills gap analyses for someone," exclaims Kathy. "Now if a student says, ‘I think maybe I might want to train to become a CSI,' I'll say, ‘OK, let's look that up.' I type it in and let them SEE. TV doesn't list the skills needed, the tasks involved, the training required—to do the job. So, the student can't see it. They get to see all that, with O*NET." And often, the student realizes that it isn't going to happen. It will be too hard. The training will take way too long and be too tough. Or, the occupations in that area have too many undesirable dimensions." (The TV doesn't depict how ever-gruesome, dirty, or tedious CSI work is.)
Kathy doesn't stop with the extensive occupational information in O*NET Online. She finds people working in a "high-potential occupation" and gets them together with her student on the phone, so the student learns what it really is like to be a whatever. Often that seals the deal, confirms the suspicion that a certain occupation is not what the student had in mind.
"I suppose one could say this is a negative experience. Often it is disappointing. Many of my people have had wonderful or unique prior work histories. And now, because of their physical limitations, they are afraid. But it isn't O*NET that is negative in the process; O*NET is only helpful. Just ‘the opposite' has happened for me, as well," Kathy explains. "The discovery process is enlightening. The information in O*NET leads to a student saying, ‘Yeah, I could do that! I didn't realize this work included doing that.' For this person the O*NET information is energizing. We get on the phone with someone in the occupation. I use Yahoo Yellow Pages. We get right on it.
"We're not out to crush anyone's dreams. We are determined to get the facts and start to build a plan. ‘Just how much bending do you do?' ‘How much training did you actually have?' Verifying this kind of information is critical," details Kathy.
"I worked with a woman who is a registered nurse. She still is in her seven-month individualized program here. After her stroke she thought she didn't want to be a full-time nurse because she has a lot of residual physical challenges. O*NET led us to several possibilities, which she could mostly eliminate when she learned what was entailed task-wise, training-wise, etc. We studied Nurse Case Manager, Certified Life Planner, Telephone Triage Nurse, and volunteer work, among other occupations. Working with O*NET, through an organized process, led this student to realize that she does want to return to working as a registered nurse, part time. So there is an example of a positive, validating O*NET information experience."
Spotlight senses enthusiasm and dedication-to-job in visiting with Kathy Gregory. But she does maintain balance in her life. She is an avid gardener, delighted with her acreage, terrain, and climate, having moved from Nashville to Sarasota, FL, area a couple of years ago. "I love anything outdoors. I enjoy walking our dogs." And they walk a lot. "I did 10 miles yesterday," she notes, explaining that she is in training for the Music City Half Marathon.
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