PANAMA CITY — The nonprofit Goodwill reopened its Career Training Center in Springfield on Friday after being shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the reopening, people from the community got to tour the facility and learn what the Career Training Center has to offer. The center offers courses and certifications that range from computer basics to health care to financial literacy.
Goodwill provides certifications for certified nursing assistants (CNAs), restaurant servers, Microsoft Office and others.
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One of the services the center provides is Career Express. As Career Express specialist Catherine Tarrant puts it, you learn how to get a job, keep a job, and find a better job in Career Express.
“We have online classes, Zoom right now, we have classes that discover your career path, which is getting them started by looking for a job or transitioning to a different job,” Tarrant said. “We have classes in resume writing, interview skills and all of the skills needed in your tool kit.”
Tarrant added that they also provide services to help people who are at a job that is not a good fit for them, by teaching them how to leave gracefully. She said that part is important for getting a good reference from supervisors at that job.
For Stacy Larkin, vice president of human resources at the Career Training Center, she’s happy to have the facility back open.
“Right now, employers are looking for workers and workers are out there, but everyone is looking to retool after the pandemic,” Larkin said. “This is the place to retool. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Even Ron Sharpe, executive director for The Arc of the Bay, which helps people with disabilities find jobs, was in attendance during the tour. Larkin said it was great to see him attending the tour.
“We work with similar populations and we’re both community partners and I think Ron is fantastic and he has done some fantastic things in this community,” Larkin said.
Larkin said she’s looking forward to seeing people walk through their doors again and help them in a variety issues they’re facing after the pandemic.
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