Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee

Have you ever seen the look on someone’s face when that person finally gets a job?

It is a look of joy, confidence and even relief. It is a look that we get to see often at Goodwill as we help people feel the dignity that comes with a paycheck.

Thanks to our generous donors and retail customers, we can provide free employment and training services for people with disabilities or with other challenges that may be preventing them from finding work.

We have 14 Career Solutions Centers in middle and west Tennessee. Our career counselors offer one-on-one sessions to help people meet their individual career goals.

Our career counselors help clients with job searches, resumes, applications and interviewing skills.

We also offer a number of classes and programs designed to educate and help people reach their goals.

Training for the Office
Goodwill now certified to train and test clients on Microsoft.

In just about every company around the U.S., most professional staff must have a familiarity with Microsoft Office products, from how to use Microsoft (MS) Word for word processing, to Excel for spreadsheets, to Outlook for emailing.

When clients arrive at Goodwill in need of jobs, Goodwill can now train and test them for MS Office Suite skills.  

A big hand-up for those looking for work.

Previously, Goodwill clients could learn the necessary skills to navigate through the software, but would have to travel elsewhere to actually test and become certified.  

“By doing the certification testing here at Goodwill, our clients will be much more relaxed and in a familiar testing environment—a great asset to our clients,” says Matt Gloster, senior director of Career Solutions.  

Goodwill received the news that it was an approved Certiport exam center, one of the largest testing companies for MS products, in early January.  “This will definitely be more convenient for our clients. Goodwill will be a one-stop training facility,” says David Kitchen, Goodwill’s new hire, who is a MS Office specialist master trainer.  

Because of Goodwill’s mission to provide jobs and job training to people with disabilities and other disadvantages, the agency will be able to extend testing times for those clients that meet the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) requirements. “Being able to lengthen the testing time should help clients with disabilities feel more at ease and less stressed about completing the exam,” says Kitchen.

“Above all, our execution of this program will provide clients much needed skills and assistance in finding employment,” says Gloster.