To spruce up her resume and sharpen her skills, the Audubon resident turned to the Executive Education Program at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden. Now, Kelley works as a global custom software contract administrator for IBM, and credits the program for getting her back in business.
“I believed that if my credentials were current and applicable in today's current job market, I could increase my chances of having my resume viewed favorably and securing an interview,” Kelley says.
Kelley, 58, earned online certificates in project management and marketing management from Rutgers–Camden’s Executive Education Online Certificate Program. The program serves employed workers seeking to sharpen their business skills and unemployed workers enhance their business skills and workforce marketability.
Additionally, grants are available to provide financial assistance to unemployed workers who wish to enroll in the program.
“Due to my age and the state of the economy, I knew I had to build upon and re-frame my work experiences to re-validate my credentials,” says Kelley, who was out of work for 14 months after being laid off from her job as a contract administrator at Virtua Health.
“I felt that having project management and marketing management certificates from Rutgers–Camden would not only increase my knowledge base, but would also improve my skills, which is a necessity in obtaining a new job in the current job market,” she says.
Students enrolled in the Online Certificate Program at Rutgers–Camden gain new skills and enhance existing abilities on their own schedule.
Typically lasting three or four months, students can attain certification in nearly two dozen fields, including human resources management, project management, general business management, sales and sales management, and Microsoft Office and web design development.
The program allows students to work at their own pace, at any time of the night or day, weekends included. Each course covers approximately 100 hours of learning, with roughly 70 hours of online content and another 30 hours of assignments and one-on-one interaction with a Rutgers advisor and instructor.
“Our certificate programs are designed to allow professionals like Deborah Kelley enhance their skill sets and gain confidence and credibility to re-enter the workforce,” says Jonathan Lane, program manager for Rutgers–Camden’s Executive Education Program. “Many people who have gone through the program say it has given them an advantage in the job marketplace.”
Since 2004, 700 people have completed the certificate courses, Lane says.
Kelley says she feels the program gave her an edge in her application, interview, and subsequent hire at IBM.
“Project management is a must have skill in any high level position and I am confident that the knowledge I gained in the Rutgers–Camden program will lend itself to my career advancement at IBM,” she says. “I knew that my recently acquired credentials would be viewed favorably in today’s business environment.”
For additional information about the Rutgers–Camden online certificate programs, visit execed.rutgers.edu or call (856) 225-6685. For information about grant eligibility, visit execed.rutgers.edu/unemployed-training.
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Media Contact: Ed Moorhouse
(856)225-6759
E-mail: ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu