Developing or changing your career can be tough. It often means making significant investments in money and time to get the skills, experience , New in Professional Development By Christina Broughton Internship and Career Development Programs Manager The Career Advisory Program
and education you need to advance. Deciding to invest in your career growth can feel daunting, and in a world with so many options, it can be confusing to figure out what makes the best sense for you personally. This past November, Vinfen launched a new program to help staff feel more secure and supported as they make important career decisions. The new Career Advisory Program connects employees with experienced colleagues in positions they may be interested in advancing into themselves. These volunteer career advisors can discuss staff’s career-related concerns, answer questions, and share their personal experiences. The Career Advisory Network is meant to provide a quick and easy way to get the advice and guidance staff need to move their careers forward. Volunteers are available to connect and discuss different jobs available in their career field, what a ‘day in the life’ of that career would be like, the credentials needed to move into different types of jobs and to share similar experiences in developing their own careers.
Any Vinfen employee needing advice can email into one of the inboxes listed above to learn more about careers in clinical social work, mental health counseling, brain injury support services, or disability support services; nursing or home healthcare; peer support services; program management; or nonprofit administration. Learn more about the Career Advisory Network on SharePoint. If you or a colleague want to grow your career and need some advice or support – we encourage you to reach out!
Increasing Vinfen's Investment in Workforce Development It is well known that there is a shrinking supply of licensed mental health and human service professionals in our field. This is not only evident in the low staffing of many of our clinical teams, but also in our personal lives when we find it difficult to find a practitioner when we need one. This growing crisis affects everyone and cannot be curbed without a committed investment in developing this professional workforce.
Last year, Vinfen implemented important initiatives aimed at reducing barriers to education for critical human service professionals and to attract new clinicians and medical professionals to our field. This significant investment in workforce development is a key step in Vinfen's ability to provide the best services and support s to the communities we care for. It is also a significant investment in you, our staff, who we believe already have the skills and passion needed to advance into these much-needed roles. These new programs and initiatives are both to bring new professionals to Vinfen and to reduce barriers for our staff to enter these careers.
Vinfen understands that obtaining a professional license is expensive, in terms of money and time. Not only do you have to pay high fees for classes, but you may need to take an unpaid internship or prerequisite classes that make education even more costly. These costs can add up so quickly for the adult learner that specific careers feel unobtainable. Vinfen is determined to make education more accessible and affordable for the next generation of human service professionals by increasing tuition reimbursement benefits, implementing new student loan relief benefits, and providing paid opportunities for traditionally unpaid student internships. (continued on page 6 & 7)
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