If it is the closest or shortest or least expensive thing you could do right now to get a skill, any skill, those issues will certainly need to be factored in to your decision. But they might not be the only things you want to think about and certainly will not be the most important things to consider. Please take the time to look at the potential for your long term satisfaction and growth. Will these skills be something that you will want to keep using, something that puts you in a job that you have hope of enjoying and being able to do? Will this training get you the work stability and environment that you need?

Getting these answers is not as difficult as it might seem. Talking to people who do the job now, otherwise known as informational interviewing, can give you a good sense of what the work is like day by day. What do they enjoy in these positions, what do they find challenging? Why not speak with employers and do some internet research to paint a picture of the future of the position? Imagine spending time and money learning to repair electric typewriters in the late 80’s as the personal computer revolution began. Did the experts in that industry know what was coming? Did the schools tell you not to take the course because that industry was dying?

Speaking with local employers also will help you gauge the demand in your local area and get a head start on some contacts that will help you find a position when your training is complete. Believe me, your local employers need good workers who plan ahead. They don’t mind answering these kinds of questions.

Many schools will be happy to let you tour their facilities, check out the classes and talk to their students, which gives you the chance to feel what it will be like to sit in the classroom for a year or two. It is just good business for them to do this. And best of all to turn out satisfied graduates who get the jobs they want.
But … it is our job to ask the questions.

Secondly, is this course at this school really going to teach you what you need to know to get the work you want?

It really pays to find out more about the school and the course, checking to determine exactly what will be taught in the modules listed, what kinds of positions the training is suited for, etc. Is the accounting taught at the community college enough to get the accounting job with the provincial government that you really want? Will the safety course fit you to be the Safety Manager or the head of the safety committee at work? Which position do you want? If the training is available from more than one institution, what is the difference in what they offer? Besides price and length of course? Is one valued in the workplace more than another? Does your target employer have a favourite training location? It is too easy in all of this to make assumptions that come back to bite you later and so much easier when you ask the questions first.

Last and most important. This is your time and money, your future. Will there be jobs out there, real jobs that pay what you need, when you have finished your studies? Just because the training is offered does not necessarily mean that the jobs will be there or that you will get paid more than you are making now. And reading that there is a shortage of plumbers or nurses does not always translate into a job for newly trained you. “They” do a lot of talking in Atlantic Canada but ‘they’ don’t always know or report all of the story and ‘they’ don’t always know you. We all know there is a shortage of nurses, but how many of those coming out of school this year will walk into full time permanent jobs? I could assume from what I read and hear that they all will but that is not their reality.

So how can you be confident that you are doing the right thing? Contact the employers where you want to be and find out what they are thinking. How do they handle people new to the industry? Do they even hire entry level workers? Many local resources exist that can help you find the employers you are looking for. Job Resource Centres, the library, the local Regional Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, listings on the labour market information site of the federal government, other local agencies all out there and waiting to answer your questions.

These conversations will pay off in so many ways. Knowing that there are employers who will need you when you are finished will help to motivate you as you study. Already mentioned is beginning your contact list for positions. Sometimes these conversations have ended with an informal offer of work “Come back and see me when you are done, we will see what is happening here then. You might be just what we are looking for.” they can also give you an idea of things to focus on while you are taking your course, perspectives you might not have considered otherwise.