San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 16, 2009
With more than half of jobless Americans believing that their job is not coming back, training for new careers is a top priority.
News Facts:
eduFire (http://www.eduFire.com) is launching the eduFire Tech Channel, a platform for people in career transition to learn new technology skills from experts in the field, improving their ability to find work in todays market.
The eduFire Tech Channel is aimed at two groups:
o People laid off from dying industries: The downturn in the economy has resulted in a staggering number of newly unemployed people who require job retraining in primarily technology-based industries that are hiring.
o People in career transition: Many classes will focus on the skills needed to transition into a new career, including resume writing, interview preparation and career counseling.
Unemployment and underemployment are at an all-time high. More and more people are considering working for themselves while others are looking to learn new skills to help them find work.
Structural unemployment, where there is a mismatch between the skills or location of job seekers and the requirements or location of available jobs, is growing leaving economists concerned about the long term impact of the current economic crisis. Industries like automotive and manufacturing are drying up leaving people needing to learn new skills to bridge the gap.
The eduFire Tech Channel is focused on teaching skills that directly correlate to finding employment (using resources like the Elance Work Index) based on the direction of the market. Top skills in demand for October 2009 were PHP, Content Writing, HTML and WordPress.
Unlike traditional e-learning, which generally brings canned, often obsolete, coursework, eduFire offers an interactive, virtual class with live instructors who can answer questions and adjust the curriculum on-the-fly to meet the needs of each individual student.
The live class environment also offers new ways to learn from fellow classmates all over the world through interaction with students that share the same interests, ambitions and career development goals.
Teachers on the eduFire Tech Channel will bring unique perspectives based on their real-life experiences. Learning from developers and designers in the field gives students access to career development they could not get anywhere else.
eduFire is partnering with other leading companies, including Webs.com, to provide professional classes in things like Web site design.
The eduFire Tech Channel offers a high degree of convenience, giving anyone the chance to learn anytime from anywhere. This is especially powerful for those who dont have the time or means to attend classes or lack a local option.
eduFire offers unlimited learning via the SuperPass program. For $ 29 a month, less than a dollar a day, anyone can access unlimited Tech Channel SuperPass courses. And, there are even some free Tech Channel classes so students can sample before they buy.
Check out the eduFire Tech Channel today at http://edufire.com/tech. For more information on the $ 29 a month, all-you-can-learn, SuperPass, go to http://www.edufire.com/superpass. For a short video demo of eduFire, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaZtig8LHW8.
Sampling of eduFire Tech Channel Classes:
Advanced websites in minutes on the Webs.com platform
Become a Killer PHP Developer in 10 Weeks
Getting Started with Joomla
Introduction to Google Hacking
Master Website Building Blocks: HTML, Javascript & CSS
Putting your business online for fun and profit
The A-Z of Web Analytics
Using WordPress to Create Web pages for Local Business
Background Facts:
After the September 2009 Unemployment Report was published, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis described the current state of unemployment as “unacceptable” and stated that job training programs would be key to turning around the economy.
The U.S. unemployment rate for September 2009 was 9.8 percent, with non-payroll jobs decreasing by 263,000. Some declining industries site unemployment rates over 20 percent (Source: U.S. Department of Labor).
As of September 2009, 5.4 million people had been out of work for over 27 weeks, up from 5 million in August. This represents 35.6 percent of the total of unemployed people in the U.S. In addition, the number of those who believed they had permanently lost their jobs rose to 8.5 million from 8.1 million in August. This means about 54.3 percent of jobless Americans believe their job is not coming back (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics).
The underemployment rate in California hit 21.9 percent in September 2009 (Source: California Employment Development Department)
Unemployment hasn’t been this high since November 1982, when there was a 10.8 percent unemployment rate (Source: U.S. Department of Labor).
Seven million American jobs have disappeared between December 2007 and August 2009, a five percent decrease in total number of jobs (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Quote:
Attributable to Jon Bischke, CEO & Founder, eduFire: Structural unemployment is often overlooked but truly the biggest threat to the future of our economy. People who lost jobs in dying industries are willing and ready to get back into the workforce. Unfortunately, many dont have the skills required to get a new job and are stuck. Without some outlet where they can learn the web-based skills that will let them build a new career, they will be not only unemployed but unemployable. We hope the Tech Channel will provide a stepping stone to end structural unemployment.
About eduFire:
eduFire (http://www.edufire.com) is an online destination that offers live, interactive video classes. For anyone looking to advance their knowledge who doesnt believe education should end after graduation, eduFire combines the flexibility and convenience of online learning with the interaction of the real-world classroom to go beyond the inconvenient, rigid, costly and often ineffective boundaries of traditional education. eduFire also gives teachers an open marketplace where they can finally get the pay and respect they deserve, on their terms. As education moves online, eduFire is committed to bringing low-cost, convenient, high-quality classes to the community. Founded in 2007 and backed by Battery Ventures, eduFire is headquartered in San Francisco.
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