Newest Key Contributor Award Winner Chip Ehlers

Today I am pleased to announce the newest recipient of our Key Contributor Award, Chip Ehlers. This award is really about who in our companies embraces our core values, Ease, Value and Trust, and make key contributions so we can fulfill our “Why,” which is improving employability every day.

Chip, a 16-year LearnKey team member never shies away from any task that he is asked to do. From order entry and fulfillment to printing and shipping catalogs, Chip never says ‘it can’t be done.’ Of course he is most famous in the St. George office for serenading his coworkers when a catchy song comes on the radio. Here are some things that his nominating coworkers said about Chip:

Jared: Chip is the ultimate team player and does whatever is needed to help the team win. He isn’t above anything that he is asked. He rolls up his sleeves and figures out a way to get the job done. You can ALWAYS count on Chip.

Kim: When I think of Chip- he is always cool, calm, and collected. If deadlines change and he has to adjust his schedule – it’s always “no problem.”

Chad: Chip goes above and beyond in everything that he’s asked to do.

One of our programs has had strong growth over 30% the last two years. That means Chip’s workload has grown by that and never once has he asked for relief or additional help. His ability to handle multiple projects and tasks with critical deadlines is second to none. Most recently while in St. George I mentioned that we should probably look to clean up some of our storage areas by the end of the year, but when I came back two weeks ago Chip had it done. Did not have to ask twice, he took care of it. Again, way to go Chip!

Please join me in congratulating Chip on receiving this award and for sticking to our core values: Ease, Value, and Trust, but most importantly, he truly helps LearnKey Improve Employability Every Day!

Hello December: T-Minus: 52 Days until take-off

Welcome to December, y’all!

It is officially official, my Remote Year experience has a launch date. On January 26, 2018, I will be flying from Phoenix to L.A., then on to Hong Kong, and finally landing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! The longest flight I have taken to date has been six hours from NYC to L.A., which is a stroll to the park compared to the 16-hour flight to Hong Kong. I can barely sit for six hours, let alone 16! Oy! Any tips for long flights are appreciated, so please feel free to comment. Also new in November, as part of the Remote Year program, we have gotten to meet our community! I have already spoken with several co-travelers that I will be with, and three are from Arizona! With even that limited information, this travel has become less daunting and mysterious and more welcoming. Enough about me…

In mid-October, I had the pleasure to work with LearnKey’s production team to create a marketing video for our sister company, Brighton College. I am giving a HUGE shout-out to the incredible work of Mer, Jason, Seth, and Neil. They create masterful videos with ease. If you have never been on a production shoot, it is NOT easy. I, the amateur, probably had 15 takes just to say, “the need is urgent”. Neil creatively edited the video, resulting in me sounding less awkward. Thanks Neil! Feel free to check out the video below. Side note: Neil and Seth have amazing taste in horribly-terrific holiday horror films.

The Job Ready Team is pleased to announce that three BO students were hired and started work in November! LearnKey is proud to improve employability every day! We are also giving our online Job Ready Resource Center a new look, launching in 2018. Please keep a lookout for the improved layout.

Wishing you all an inspired holiday season. Next blog will be from Kuala Lumpur!

September Flew By; October Disappeared

Did I just have an unusually long blink? Where did September go? AND October is gone?!

Lots of exciting news from September, maybe that’s why it went by so fast…

It all started with getting to meet a LearnKey Alumni that relocated to AZ for an IT job at Spectrum. It was an honor to shake his hand and see the joy in his eyes brought on by finding a career in his field. LearnKey has assisted nine Blue Ocean graduates finding a new career in their field in the last six months.

Next, I was shocked by the final itinerary for my Remote Year experience! It could not have imagined a better list of places! Emotional roller coaster is a term that I continue to use to describe my experience but it is more like ton of happy, exciting, anxiety bricks hitting you at any moment, like when you are celebrating a moment with a friend who you may not see for an entire year, presenting a resume and interview workshop in Las Vegas, or ya know, just breathing, just hits you. Seeing the places in which I will live made this experience become very, very real. And, here they are https://remoteyear.com/itinerary-kanyini .

Speaking of that resume workshop and Interview workshop, I had the pleasure to work with an amazing company called Three Square. Three Square is Southern Nevada’s only food bank providing food assistance to the residents of Lincoln, Nye, Esmeralda, and Clark counties. Three Square’s mission is to provide wholesome food to hungry people, while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community. We combine food banking (warehousing canned and boxed goods), food rescue (obtaining surplus or unused meats, bread, dairy and produce from hospitality and grocery outlets), and ready-to-eat meals to be the most complete food solution for Southern Nevada. They, in partnership with LearnKey, have stepped up to take its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, outreach efforts to the next level. Three Square approached the state with a proposal that it create a pilot program to train SNAP recipients in call-center work, with an eye toward becoming a certified third-party training provider.

I had the privilege to administer the Resume Writing and interview Workshop to the students in the pilot program for Three Square as of October 10, 2017, 3 out of the 5 participants have been hired.

Honorable Mentions:

Went to the HeroZona Launch Luncheon for Arizona’s Veteran’s week, find more information here: https://www.herozona.com/
Met with an AZ Congresswoman’s Community Liaison who mentioned that the VA is moving to hire more work-from-home customer services representatives, more information will be shared as it is received.

September 2017 has changed my life for the better with all the inspiring events. I look forward to sharing my October with y’all!

Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 Specialist (70-480) Released!

Today, we are excited to announce the release of our Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 Specialist course.

Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 Specialist (70-480)

The Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 Specialist (70-480) course readies one for the Microsoft 70-480 exam and will increase employability prospects for anyone looking to get into a web design and web development career. The course covers document structures and objects, program flow, accessing and securing data, and the use of Cascading Style Sheets in applications. This exam (or the 70-483 exam for Programming in C#) plus the 70-486 exam (for developing ASP.NET applications) earns one an MCSA for App Development.

Our hope is that through our courseware we may provide learners with the guidance, preparation, and skills they need to succeed. For more information and to learn about additional LearnKey products visit our website.

MTA Introduction to Programming Using JavaScript Released Today!

Today, we are excited to announce the release of our MTA Introduction to Programming Using JavaScript course.

MTA Introduction to Programming Using JavaScript (98-382)

The MTA Introduction to Programming Using JavaScript (98-382) course is an excellent course for those looking to gain valuable introductory JavaScript skills. Topics covered include: learning about JavaScript operators, keywords, and methods, using variables, data types, and functions, implementing decisions and loops, interacting with the DOM (Document Object Model), and interacting with forms. In all of these topics, students will clearly see how JavaScript is used to enhance existing webpages. Furthermore, this course covers the material on the MTA 98-382 exam, and will help anyone looking to improve their employability prospects in the areas of designing and building webpages.

MTA Introduction to Programming Using Python Released Today!

Today, we are excited to announce the release of our MTA Introduction to Programming Using Python course.

MTA Introduction to Programming Using Python (98-381)

LearnKey’s MTA Introduction to Programming Using Python (98-381) course covers Python, a very versatile programming language which can be used to power websites, build games, and even program hardware. This course is also an excellent course for someone new to programming, as many of the topics covered are basic programming topics which carry over well to other programming languages. Specifically, this course covers data types and operators, decisions and loops, input and output, code documentation and structure, troubleshooting, and modules and tools. The course topics directly map to the MTA 98-381 exam and will help anyone looking to improve their employability prospects in Python and for programming jobs in general.

Linux+ MasterExams Released Today!

Today, we are excited to announce the release of our Linux+ Part I and Linux+ Part II MasterExams.

MasterExam™ test prep tools from LearnKey help IT certification candidates put the finishing touches on their comprehension and confidence as a final step before sitting for the exam. With hundreds questions, the all-new Linux+ Part I/Part II MasterExam™ supplements the training and hands-on experience needed to pass the Linux+ Part I/ Part II exams.

New Security+ on the Way

Hello, everyone. It’s fall season here at LearnKey, and a busy fall it is going to be with many new courses on the horizon. One of the major courses we are working on (in fact we are filming this one very soon) is the brand new Security+ course, to map to the CompTIA Security+ SY0-501 exam (also brand new).

This new version of the Security+ exam really reflects the changing landscape of both security needs in an organization and the role of the Security Administrator or similar position in an organization. Today’s security administrator needs to be a very versatile individual, not only able to secure an existing IT infrastructure but be more involved in planning security, specifically as it relates to Architecture and Design and Risk Management, which, by the way, are two domains on the new Security+ exam.

The other four domains on the exam are: Technologies and Tools; Threats, Attacks, and Vulnerabilities; Identity and Access Management; and Cryptography and PKI (Public Key Infrastructure). For each of these domains, we will have comprehensive video training, pre-assessment and post-assessment tests, practice labs, and a robust project workbook, all mapped to the Security+ exam objectives. And, though I won’t reveal exactly how (you’ll have to see the course to find out) we’re going to present this in such a way as to improve your employability prospects for any junior to mid-level security administrator position, I will say this: If you want to know what it’s like the first few days on the job as a new security administrator, you’ll actually feel like you are there through this course.

Well, time for me to get back to putting the finishing touches on the material for this course. Stay tuned to this space for more updates as we will be releasing several courses this fall in the areas of IT administration and programming.

Improving Employability Every Day at its Best!

Yesterday, I had the honor to meet Cory Olsson (pictured with Beth Ciaramello and Gloria Klug), a military veteran from Alpena, MI, who completed the LearnKey Blue Ocean program. Cory recently relocated to El Mirage, Arizona, after accepting a position with Spectrum Technology Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon completing the program, Beth Ciaramello, LearnKey’s Job Ready Manager, worked with Cory to gain employment. This is the best part of the job: meeting someone who completed our program and now has the skills to succeed in IT.

At LearnKey we are so passionate about “Improving Employability Every Day” for our customers that when we have an opportunity to learn about one of our own student’s success it just makes it all worth it. Cory is the one we are most proud of as our program is not easy. Beth raved about what an amazing student Cory was and how he had the skills, smarts, and right attitude to be successful. Spectrum Technology Solutions is a great company and Gloria Klug, Owner/VP Business Development, is excited to have Cory as part of her team.

Again, it is an honor to watch learners succeed in our program and gain employment, as it builds the motivation for all of us to create the best employability learning solutions on the planet.

Newest Key Contributor Award Recipient – Makes his passion drive Improving Employability Every Day

I am pleased to announce our 2017 2nd Quarter Key Contributor Award goes to Brian Tremelling. He has shown us from the beginning over 8 years ago that when you believe in something, most importantly yourself, dreams can come true. This award is a big deal for our company as it is given to those that really demonstrate our core values: Ease, Value, and Trust, as well as our “Why” which is Improving Employability Every Day.

One of Brian’s most proud accomplishments is how he led the way in building our vocational rehab programs, but what you don’t see is his passion, commitment, and dedication to the stuff that is not fun. Building course bundles, creating and automating process flows, dealing with the internal and external challenges that come when you are focused on progressing our students so they reach their employability goals. However, this past quarter, in addition to managing the program, getting us approved in other states, and 110% dedicated to improving our process and technology, to make other jobs easier he alone took on technical work in order to enhance our student information system (SIS). The entire team got a sneak peak at it three weeks ago and are so excited to roll it out. We are close, very close – Brian led that cause and through bumps and roadblocks he handled it like a pro!

His peers were excited to hear what former Key Contributor Award Winners had to say about Brian:

Jason Manibog says Brian is a great organizer, always helping production, and always has the students’ best interest in mind. Wyett Ihler shared: “I am impressed with Brian’s dedication and ability to stick to something when he has a belief. That passion has served us so well. Willing to assert but does so in a very respectful manner.” Ben Lee: “Brian is a great friend who always tries to understand/listen to the people he works with. Doesn’t give up when he believes in something.” Tristan Roberts: “Brian Keeps an open mind and always receptive to change for the better of the student and LK. Always gives an honest opinion.” Kim Johnson: “Astounded by vast knowledge base, curricula, team player, always has the best interest of LearnKey.”

So you hear: Passion, belief, team player, good listener, honest, respectful. I’d like to second all of those as he and I will always be tied together for dealing with our fair share of challenge, opportunities, and positive outcomes. He reconfirmed that if you do the right thing, things have a way of working out.

Please join me in once again congratulating Brian on his many contributions to LearnKey!