Podcast #220 – Judy Stelling, Product Director of Guides for GetSetup
Description:
Judy Stelling’s bio is as follows:
As GetSetup’s Director of Guides, Judy works with both Guides and GetSetup’s learning platform to help design, deliver and facilitate classes for older adults that are interesting, relevant, and fun. Passionate about life-long learning, using tech to make people’s lives better, and eliminating workforce age barriers, her work at GetSetup helps bring these missions to life.
Prior to GetSetUp, Judy has worked as Product Director and Implementation Director for Careerbuilder’s award-winning Applicant Tracking System, co-founded a niche marketing company, managed software development teams, and was a Systems Engineer for IBM.
This episode is sponsored by Career Pivot. Check out the Career Pivot Community. Make sure and pick up my latest book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life Third Edition.
Now on to the podcast…
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Peer-To-Peer Training
GetSetUp is training via live classes where older adults are teaching older adults.
This socialization resonates with many of the attendees.
How did it start?
Two friends were out exercising when one had the idea that there is a lot of talent in retired or older adults that is being unused.
They decided that the expertise could be used and transferred to other older adults.
The company was just being started when Covid hit.
So they pivoted.
Needs in a Pandemic World
There was a huge need because people were being thrown into a real-world situation that they didn’t have before.
They don’t know what to do or how to take advantage of technology to help in a pandemic world.
So the company put out 40-50 classes with more focus on living in a pandemic world, i.e., how to see your family, pay your bills, or order groceries online.
People needed to live, stay active, and use their brains. That took off in March through June of 2020.
Teaching in a Pandemic World
Then we saw a need for teachers that are now being required to teach in a virtual world instead of standing in front of students.
The company needed to help those teachers teach online.
Because those learners who started early, and had never been on Zoom , became familiar with it. They realized that there were other things that could be done, so we began adding the enrichment classes.
Once they became technically efficient there were many things they could learn and teach.
The Guides that Teach
Where do the Guides come from?
Community, referrals, and previous learners are the majority.
The typical guide is between 55 and 65 and the typical user is 65-80.
Future Plans
GetSetUp plans on staying as a learning organization but adding more and more socialization and interaction in a variety of ways.
They may also add different languages and go into other geographies.
Their goal is to keep the curriculum of really good content taught by older people to older people and adding the fun that comes from socialization.
They would join a class on creating a LinkedIn profile, i.e., tips and tricks of building that profile.
Then, they could join a group where everyone will share their profile and encourage one another and give constructive feedback.
Basically, a “learn and application” workshop.
Because there has been a huge increase of isolation, it will be interesting to see what happens when more people get vaccinated.
Will they go back to what they knew before or will they stay virtual?
They think some will stay virtual.
The socialization aspect of it is huge. They are learning something but the social part is just as important.
Important for their physical health and their mental health.
Most Popular Classes
Intro to Zoom.
People are constantly needing that class.
Exercise classes are starting to become very popular.
And, of course, all technology classes are popular, i.e., Gmail, setting up email, etc.
Cooking classes are popular as well.
Ultimately, they join for the technology then the comfort level brings them to other enrichment classes.
And, the socialization of it all, is great for the spirit and their mind.
That’s always a good thing!
To learn more about GetSetUp go to: GetSetUp.io
To reach out to Judy: judy@getsetup.io
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