65-year-olds on using a mouse, creating
Word documents and mastering Excel
programs, or teaching fourth through
six graders about entrepreneurship.
During a typical 9 a.m. Friday class
at Tuscaloosa Housing Authority’s
McKenzie Court Community Center,
unemployed and underemployed third-shift fast-food workers focus on building
career-worthy skills.
“Volunteers from accounting honor
group Beta Alpha Psi and our business
honors program work as tutors, with
one Culverhouse student paired with
two community members. They work
on one computer for 75 minutes,”
McKinney says. “Many attendees are
using a computer for the first time.”
Although open to all, attendees tend
to be from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The program began after McKinney
studied local employment.
“We researched all the area job
postings, McKinney says. “Since the
most common required skills were
Microsoft Word and Excel, you’re
unqualified for many jobs without those
skills. We also found high schools in
disadvantaged areas no longer offer
computer classes because computer
skills are not on standardized tests.”
Almost immediately, hopeful and
fearful candidates called, many with the
same concern:
“You know, I can’t use a computer.”
“That’s OK, because I can’t cook or
change a tire,” McKinney responded.
As student volunteers tutor an
immigrant family in programs needed
for their new store or help a minimum-wage worker develop next-level skills,
they catch a glimpse what it is like to
work hard for low pay.
Class graduates will earn certificates
worthy of the résumés they will learn to
write in another Culverhouse outreach
class. Some will progress in current
fields. Others will be better-equipped to
pursue long-imagined careers.
“I have never seen people so
hungry to learn,” McKinney says of
attendees. “We hope to offer classes
in QuickBooks because there are
bookkeeping jobs available at $25 an
hour. We’re considering classes in office
communication and business writing
skills. The list is endless.”
“WE WANT TO TEACH THEM
WHILE THEY ARE YOUNG
THAT BUSINESS CAN BE FUN
AND COOL. SO THAT’S WHY
WE ARE REACHING OUT TO
THESE YOUNG CHILDREN.”
—Lisa McKinney
Culverhouse accounting students teaching computer skills to LIFT attendees