Training for Life
Rigorous YMCA Program Fosters Front-Line Management Skills
By Christina P. O’Neill
W
hen Peabody Properties hired Carolyn Parker, they not only found a great administrative support staff, they found a great source for new talent. For the past six months, Parker has been an administrative assistant for Peabody Properties Inc., one of the area’s largest owners and managers of multifamily property, with 450 employees across the state. Her current work site is the recently completed Charlesview Residences, a Brighton complex with 240 apartments in 19 townhouses and three mid-rise buildings. PPI offered Parker a position a week and a half into what had been planned to be an eight-week internship. A participant of the YMCA of Greater Boston’s Training Inc., an administrative support training program, Parker’s participation in the program, her interest in the job, and her willingness to learn new materials and skills, stood her well with PPI. Parker’s training included a 12-week administration support course, followed by the internship. YMCA Training, Inc. has provided professional skills training and employment assistance to laid-off, unemployed, and under-employed adults throughout greater Boston for over 30 years. Each year, more than 120 people attend the 20-week full-time training program, gaining administrative support and computer skills. In addition to real estate and property management, participants prepare for jobs in medical offices, banking, insurance, colleges and government. 8
BAY STATE APARTMENT OWNER
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First Quarter 2014
YMCA Training Inc. works with about 50 employer partners and business managers across many industries, who guide the curriculum from the beginning. “There’s so much talk in the state and in the country about jobs and degree requirements,” said Anne Meyerson, executive director of the YMCA’s Education and Training branch. “There are exciting industries that do not require a college degree.” Those jobs can be found in housing, commercial real estate, and banking – jobs that require a level of technical savvy and management skills, both administrative and on the people side. “We’re not training for jobs that don’t exist; we’re not training for jobs that might exist; we’re training for now,” she said. “We ask about staff, industry trends, and redesign the curriculum [to meet the need].” The program at the YMCA of Greater Boston is tuition-free to the candidates. It is financed half by donations and half by public funds. Its long-term success rate is impressive. A total of 4,500 graduates earned an aggregate $95.5 million, and paid $3.5 million in taxes in 2013. Parker cited the high standards at Training Inc., among them, a strict attendance policy. “I learned that early is on time, and on time is late,” she said. The program also helped improve her communication skills, accuracy and organization, and gave her the knowledge and tools to complete tasks in a timely and accurate