The next session of Project Self-Sufficiency’s employment skills training program, Higher Opportunities for Women (HOW), will launch April 8.  The 16-week HOW Program combines intensive computer skills training with classroom instruction and has been reconfigured for a hybrid of in-person and virtual experiences, due to the ongoing public health crisis. 

Curriculum prepares women who have been out of the workforce or underemployed to seek entry-level office administrative positions.  Classes will operate Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. through July 29. 

In-person instruction will take place at the agency’s campus, located at 127 Mill Street in Newton. 

Women who take part in the agency’s HOW program can expect 80 hours of computer skills training, including instruction in Microsoft Word, Excel, and other applications.

Normally, the HOW program also includes 40 hours of classroom instruction and 120 hours at an unpaid externship at a community employment site, which further prepares participants to successfully venture into the job market.  Since the onset of the pandemic, the workplace experience component has been eliminated in favor of coursework focusing on workplace navigation, life skills training, resume preparation, and interviewing strategies. 

Since the HOW program’s inception, more than 1,000 women have gained self-confidence and learned marketable skills which placed them on the path to economic self-sufficiency. 

Deborah Berry-Toon, Executive Director of Project Self-Sufficiency, explained that the HOW program is more than just a job-skills program.  “The Higher Opportunities for Women program offers participants the opportunity to gain the skills and confidence to compete in today’s job market, and that in turn, helps put food on the table, pay the rent, and ultimately turn around the prospects for the entire family.  Giving our participants the tools necessary to become economically self-sufficient makes families stable and helps the entire community.”

To enroll, or to find out more information about the program, call Project Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500.