More Smoke and Mirrors: The Career Advancement Account
Gerry Crispin
Gerry Crispin Discusses the latest marketing gimmick from the same folks that brought us "Shock and Awe"
The National Employement Law Project writes: Career Advancement Accounts, like the new Medicare prescription drug program, are based upon the optimistic assumption that individuals needing government services can choose those services from competing providers without guidance on how to make the appropriate choices. Like senior citizens faced with a mountain of bewildering prescription drug plans, jobless individuals frequently need counseling and encouragement in order to find and participate in suitable retraining. By undercutting funding for agencies financed under the Workforce Investment Act, Career Advancement Accounts will leave vulnerable workers "on their own" in a self-service system, making critical training and career choices without guidance.
Gerry Crispin is principal and chief navigator of CareerXroads and frequent contributor to Total Picture Radio. Gerry and Mark Mehler are the founders of an international consulting practice that works closely with many of the world's most competitive corporations to better understand and adopt cutting-edge, recruiting technology solutions to their staffing strategy and process. Crispin & Mehler are sought-after speakers, founders of the CareerXroads Colloquium and, authors of eight editions of CareerXroads, the World's Leading Reference Guide to Job and Resume Websites.
Here’s an excerpt from Gerry’s ERE blog about the AJB and the Career Advancement Account :
The Bush Administration is proposing a $3.4 billion "career advancement account" next year – apparently as an alternative to continuing subsidies for state employment offices and One-Stop centers. We expect too many folks will take this bait and swallow this flawed initiative without much controversy. Unfortunately, it is the out-of-work Joe or Jane who will have to figure out whether to use the money for a career coach or to feed themselves and pay their mounting debts. Gotta love the marketing whiz who came up with the phrase “Career Advancement Account” for people who have lost their job. (It sounds more like “advancement” in reverse gear to us and marketing is just a weak cover for "euphemism".) According to Workforce Management, "the initiative would allocate $3,000 in federal training funds directly to (unemployed) workers each year for (the next) two years." We then tried to think of the half-full glass side of this equation. (After all, some day when our President is long retired he may be asked to weigh this initiative alongside his landing of that 7.5 pound Bass as to which accomplishment he is most proud of.)
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