Lifetime Training Solutions

Like all education, life skills training can change someone’s path by changing the way they see their path.  This is never truer than when it is part of a program offered to individuals at-risk for addictive or risky behaviors. Basic life skills training provides an individual with the confidence needed to take on life challenges, reducing stress and worry that can lead to risky behaviors.

Often individuals from backgrounds of addiction lack essential fundamentals that allow for good decision making, so they benefit greatly from programs that offer basic life skills in order to cope with day-to-day problems that could otherwise push them further into addictive behavior.  For some, a relapse to addictive behavior is triggered by everyday stressors, such as unemployment, financial hardship, homelessness, difficult relationships, or just the daily routine.  This is where fundamental life skills training is critical, as it prepares individuals to handle these factors, thereby reducing the associated stress.

For example, learning how to manage money is necessary to pay bills and save for emergencies that can happen to anyone.  However, without a financial safety net, many could find themselves in deep debt or facing foreclosure and eviction.  A simple mechanical breakdown of a car could lead to serious financial implications, such as losing a job and ending up homeless.

For individuals returning to the community after incarceration, the need for prevention education and life skills training is critical, since they often lack a support structure.  They are often ostracized from family and find it difficult to obtain employment.  In many cases it may have been the lack of education and critical life skills that led to their incarceration in the first place.  The inability of these individuals to become self-sufficient often leads to a renewed pattern of addiction and recidivism of criminal activity.

Life skills training should be included in any overall health education program, and it should be integrated into support structures offered within the community, linking students to needed counseling, mentoring, health agencies, and school.

Subjects covered in a general life skills program could include: nutrition, HIV prevention, financial management, relationships, decision making, coping with stress, and other related topics. Varying types of life skills programs are already in existence, such as those that focus on preventing drug use or on individual skills that build self-esteem and self-sufficiency.

A good life skills program will provide information in multiple formats that targets the learning style of the student.  It should contain repetition and redundancy in order to be effectively retained in long-term memory and promote application to everyday life.  The student should have access to the information so lessons can be reviewed repetitively, maximizing retention.

Some skills sets are best presented in a hands-on group setting:  however, with limited classroom time available, allowing students to take basic courses online is a more efficient allocation of resources.  This frees up instructors to focus on more critical skills, problem resolution, and mentoring.  For students who have jobs, online training allows them to take courses at their own pace from home while students who have children and cannot afford daycare or transportation costs will find online training much more cost effective. With online training, individuals can select lessons they need the most à la carte, creating a unique learning plan for each student. Online lessons combined with group training provide the best solution to enhance student learning achievement.

Each person recovering from drug abuse has unique needs.  It is difficult for agencies and non-profit organizations to customize a learning solution for each individual; but, online training provides the capability of mass customization.

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Recent statistics indicate that half of the unemployed in America lack a college degree or career certificate.  Additionally, there is a rising number of high school drop outs, not to mention high school graduates who lack fundamental educational skills that prepare them for obtaining a college degree.  Clearly the educational system in the U.S. is failing to achieve its goals.  What we need is a  recovery program to re-engage high school dropouts, provide remediation for those that need additional skills in math, science, and english.  Such a program would also need to provide career training that can speed up the process of obtaining job skills needed by the economy.  To read the entire article click here

Across the country colleges and universities complain that new freshman students are unprepared for college level work. This is a failure of our high school systems but it is also a failure in providing the tools necessary to prepare these students for what they can expect from a college level course.  One solution is to offer additional preparatory course work. However, school administrators would argue that there is not enough time in the day or enough budget to add additional classes.  The solution could be offering online preparatory courses on key subjects such as math and English that are required for graduation.  Students can take these classes at their own pace and even over the summer break between their junior and senior year.  To read the whole article click here

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Numerous reports have come forth indicating manufacturers in the U.S. cannot find qualified applicants to fill needed jobs.  This seems incredible when one considers the official unemployment rate of 8.3% and a real unemployment rate of approximately 16%.  However, employers are finding it difficult to locate people with the vocational skills and life skills necessary to compete in a 21st century economy.  Individuals need digital literacy, a good work ethic, the ability to write clearly, and collaborate effectively in a group.  Many of these skills are not being taught in school and apparently are not being provided by parents at a young age.  Read the whole story here

Part of teaching digital literacy skills is learning how to collaborate at work and school.  One tool that is very useful is Diigo.  This social bookmarking site allows the user to not only save their favorite websites, online articles, and info-graphics – it also provides tools for adding value to this information.  Highlighting tools, digital sticky notes, and discussion group postings allow the user to review, add commentary, and share knowledge over the web.  We at Smart Horizons use Diigo extensively for our work collaboration.  In fact we have curated an entire library of articles on online learning, educational technology, and other related topics. This creates a knowledge archive that is easily accessible and shared throughout the organization.  Read the whole story here

The rapid change in technology over the last twenty years has caused a global skills gap.  America is suffering from a significant skills gap that is causing a shortage of qualified applicants even during this economic recession, but we are not alone.  Developing nations like Sri Lanka, China, and India also have a similar problem.  Essentially universities cannot keep pace with changing technology and therefore are producing college graduates with irrelevant skills. Additionally, parents are encouraging their children to enter college in the hopes that they will have a better life.  However, this has caused a significant shortage of skilled workers such as machinists, welders, and similar craft vocations.  The solution is a vocational training program that teaches the value of building things and eliminates the stigma of blue collar work.  Simultaneously colleges and universities need to revisit the craft schools of the 1920′s such as the Bauhaus, which taught both higher learning and essential vocational skills.  More funding is needed for high school vocational skills training and every high school graduate should have an apprenticeship in some valuable skills before graduating.  With a teacher shortage and already crammed curriculum schedule, many of the fundamental lessons can be taught online.  This will free up the classroom for hands on training and skills development. Read the whole article here