Goodwill offering career advancement training opportunities

AUSTIN, Texas - Goodwill is a household name known for taking in donations, but what people may not know is that the non-profit offers training opportunities to help people advance in their careers at a low cost.

What they're saying:

Jessica Grover is a mom to young kids who worked in hospitality for years, but realized she wanted to shift gears in her career.

"There's actually a lot of venues where you could earn potentially a six figure salary so the opportunities are endless in this field ," says Jessica Grover, GCTA student.

Through the Goodwill Career and Technical Academy, Grover was able to explore her options and learn more about plumbing.

"I've learned how to draw and read isometrics. We have a great instructor. He will teach you. Like I said, I come from little to no experience, so he will teach all you need," says Grover.

The backstory:

Goodwill's vision is to see people thrive.

"We're specifically focused on supporting students who are experiencing some significant barrier to employment," says Alexis Denny, senior direct at GCTA.

GCTA offers accelerated, in-demand job training at little to no cost, providing a direct path into high-demand careers here in the Austin area. Students can work one-on-one with a career coach to update their skills, earn certifications, and get connected to local employers.

"And what makes us unique is that we're able to support our students with a number of wraparound services to make sure that they're successful in their training and beyond," says Denny.

Like Grover, who is a mom with a busy schedule, the program allows students like her to work at their own pace to ensure they succeed.

"Our goal is to move students into meaningful employment so that they can make a living wage, they can support their families, and they can have a lot of pride in the work that they're doing," says Denny.

"The hours are definitely there for me because the kids are in school and I understand right now it's summer, but you know it works. It pretty much works with like a mom's schedule for sure because the kids go to daycare, and I'm able to. It's an 8-4 program," says Grover.