Get to Work

Do you have trouble keeping a job?

If so, I might have found the document series for you.

The Sundance channel is releasing a 8 series documentary titled 'Get to Work' that walks you through a 'boot camp' like training program to get people the skills they need to get a job and keep it.

Filmed in San Diego, the documentary follows a program named 'STRIVE' which is a program designed to train students within four weeks and get them into a paid job as soon as possible.  STRIVE's goal is to extinguish any of the emotional barriers that are preventing you from getting work.

If you could attend a 4 week program that would get you the job you need (and help you keep it!) would you be interested?  Exactly.

What amazed me about the program is that they have the numbers to back it up.   Since its founding in 1984, STRIVE has graduated nearly 50,000 individuals from its core training programs across the country, with over 3,000 graduates and over 2,200 graduates placed into jobs in 2011. Notably, many of the STRIVE instructors are graduates of the program themselves.

What I loved about the documentary is that it reminds me a lot of basic training.  The program seems to test people and push them to their limits.  Most of these people have no jobs, no direction, and seemingly no chance. It's a high-stakes make-or-break moment and, for most of the students, this is their last crack at a real future. But it doesn't come easy: as they push their students to learn workplace skills that will land them a job, the instructors contend with those who have never learned anything other than bad attitudes and bad behavior.

If you've struggled holding a job down, this might be the series you need to watch to get your butt in gear. Check out the Sundance Channel this month for the premiere.