UPDATE:
- The curriculum restarts and classes will resume January 2023. The sessions will be Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. – Noon.
Welcome to STRIVE! STRIVE is a free development program for individuals who are struggling to secure or retain living-wage employment, looking to expand their skill set and stay connected in a changing digital world. We can help you define your goals and gain the confidence to seek higher-paying jobs, negotiate higher wages, pursue continuing education or earn professional certification.
Each session is designed with you in mind and consists of 60 hours of classroom instruction in 2-hour increments, and hands-on training and individual meetings with certified advisors to develop the professional habits and skills you need to succeed.
Registration is open for Tuesday & Thursday Classes – 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Click to Apply!
With STRIVE, you will learn and develop skills desired and practiced by local employers and that you can use to start your own business, enhance your communication needs and help you stand out when looking for work.
Topics include:
- Digital skills for the workplace
- Essential skills (AKA Soft skills)
- Entrepreneurship and business skills
- Financial literacy and independence
- Critical thinking
- Leadership skills
- Workforce wardrobe consultation
- Personal empowerment
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Career coaching
- Presentation skills
- Visioning and storytelling
- Balancing personal and professional obligations
- Opportunities for education and career advancement
STRIVE offers hands-on learning opportunities and assignments that will help you develop and practice professional and digital skills in a collaborative, supportive environment.
You will take the skills you learn in class and work one-on-one with a career coach to define an individual educational or career path, identify solutions to any barriers and receive individualized feedback and support on your progress and skills development.
Upon completion of all required hours and assignments, you will receive a STRIVE Professional Certificate and have an updated resume, stronger interview skills and knowledge and ability to launch your career and remain up-to-date in a competitive digital market.
STRIVE advisors are always working to identify and share local employment, training and internship opportunities with you. Our facilitators connect with local employers and educate them on the value of the STRIVE Professional Certificate and what you can bring to their workplace.
STRIVE is for everyone seeking a free education and development opportunity to increase professional, interpersonal and technological skills for living and working. Whether unemployed, underemployed or employed and in need of a boost, STRIVE will help you get where you want to go.
- Must live in Tippecanoe, Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Warren or White Counties.
- Must be 18+ years old.
- Must have basic English literacy and math skills.
- Must show desire and ability to complete the full program.
For questions, please email Brenda Renaldo, Director, Empowerment Services , or call (765) 742-0075.
YWCA Greater Lafayette STRIVE is committed to promoting equity and providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community, including clients, staff, volunteers, community partners and vendors. We are committed to helping individuals of all races, ethnicities, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, incarceration backgrounds, religions, ages, abilities, and other diversities succeed through our programming and services. We are committed to promoting equity throughout our operations, including the provision of services, staffing decisions, and selection of volunteers and vendors.
More About STRIVE
The Lafayette Adult Resource Academy launches a Life Sciences State Earn and Learn Program with the Indiana Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship, Cook Biotech, Ivy Tech-Lafayette, and YWCA Greater Lafayette. Students enrolled in the program can earn their high school equivalency diploma (HSE), four industry-recognized certifications, nine college credits at Ivy Tech-Lafayette and participate in paid work-based learning experiences at Cook Biotech. At the onset of the SEAL program, students will be offered paid employment at Cook Biotech for up to 28 hours a week as they work towards achieving their HSE and industry-recognized certifications. Ivy Tech-Lafayette and YWCA Greater Lafayette will offer free career coaching and professional development services to prepare students for success in the workplace.
YWCA Greater Lafayette is looking to connect our clients with our community! If you would like to join our team as a mentor and volunteer, please follow the link below and tell us more about yourself.
Are you a local employer or nonprofit agency and want to partner with YWCA Greater Lafayette STRIVE? Contact communications@ywcalafayette.org for more information.
STRIVE is powered by a grant from Google.org; and is sponsored in part by Cargill Lafayette.
Google.org supports nonprofits that address humanitarian issues and apply scalable, data-driven innovation to solving the world’s biggest challenges. We accelerate their progress by connecting them with a unique blend of support that includes funding, products, and technical expertise from Google volunteers. We engage with these believers-turned-doers who make a significant impact on the communities they represent, and whose work has the potential to produce meaningful change. We want a world that works for everyone—and we believe technology and innovation can move the needle in four key areas: education, economic opportunity, inclusion and crisis response.
