New Directions Career Center Assists Women in Transition

Programs encourange independence and
job preparedness

To find out more about New Directions Career Center and their programs, log in to PowerPhilanthropy to view their portrait.

Each of the women gathered in the weekly New Directions class has a unique story. A diverse mixture of race, age, education, and economics, these women have joined together for one goal—to learn the tools needed to begin or continue a career that will help them take care of themselves, and often the children that depend on them.

For more than 25 years, New Directions Career Center has offered workshops and programs targeting women entering or re-entering the workforce in central Ohio. Many of these women are in transition as a result of divorce, death of a spouse, or after leaving an abusive situation. As a nonprofit leader in career counseling, the Center provides both group and individual classes to help women create a resume, practice interviewing skills, learn to network, and manage their finances.

Many of the women who rely on the center are single mothers living in poverty. They are looking for ways to build a career that will enable a better life for their family.

“The new challenge women face is that they have become the face of poverty,” explained Executive Director Linda Danter. “Forty percent of people in poverty are households headed by single mothers, and this is a growing segment of the poverty population. Often women have to take more than one low-paying job to support their families by themselves. We try to focus on helping women to think of developing a career that will help them break the poverty cycle and give them the type of income that will allow them to stay out of poverty long term.”

The popular four-week New Directions group program focuses on core job readiness skills—determining your career personality, developing research skills to conduct a job search in today’s world, and understanding the local labor market. Trained counselors work with the women on how to set goals and develop their decision-making skills.

Eighty percent of those who complete the program obtain employment. The Center works closely with employers throughout central Ohio to help place graduates in fields that interest them. Less intensive programs and workshops are available for those re-entering the workforce. These women typically need some assistance in updating their resume, honing their job readiness skills, and organizing a job search utilizing all the tools and resources now available. In addition, women who are re-entering the workforce may benefit from one-on-one individual career counseling advanced career techniques.

While the Center charges nominal fees for their programs and workshops, Ms. Danter said they don’t turn any women away due to inability to pay. Scholarships and sliding scale fees are available for those in need.

For more information on New Directions Career Center, including a complete list of available programs, visit www.newdirectionscc.org.

 Hear comments from Linda Danter, executive director of New Directions Career Center.