Carolina Ramirez is back in the banking industry, thanks to the BankWork$ training program she completed at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont.
“Ten years ago, I was in the banking industry. I started as a Teller and my last position was Financial Advisor for companies,” she said when speaking on her career in Costa Rica before moving to America.
Today, Carolina is working as a Mortgage Loan Processor at Founders Federal Credit Union, a job she was able to land just five weeks into her training program at Goodwill.
“All the preparation that we got in BankWork$, it was perfect for this job,” she said. “It was the information that I needed to get the job.”
Carolina is no stranger to Goodwill and the services the nonprofit offers. During the pandemic, in 2020, she took a Customer Service course virtually, but unfortunately moved to Canada before graduation. When she returned, she heard Goodwill was offering BankWork$, an eight-week intensive training program that gives participants the skills, access and coaching needed to succeed and grow in banking careers – from understanding the financial services workplace to bank regulations, bank products, cash handling and processing customer transactions.
“I was so happy,” she exclaimed when sharing how she felt signing up for the BankWork$ program.
When taking one of Goodwill’s tuition-free training programs, participants are assigned an Employer Engagement Specialist and Career Navigator who help them with resumes, interviews and more. Thanks to the help of Career Navigator Angela Mercer, Carolina was able to successfully interview for her current role and land the job.
“We reviewed my resume. We also did mock interviews. That was very helpful,” she explained.
Training programs like the one Carolina took are available free of charge to the community, thanks to shopping and donating at Goodwill’s 36 retail locations and more than 40 donation sites, in addition to corporate, community and philanthropic donations.
“It’s been amazing because since Goodwill has given me the opportunity to take BankWork$, I’ve learned so much, and some terminologies that I need for this industry,” she said.
Carolina is grateful for her job. When she came to America in 2014, she did not have a work permit or speak any English. She enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College to learn English and did volunteer work with the Latin America Chamber of Commerce. Today, she’s able to help her community advance financially.
“The thing that I really love about this position that I got at Founders is they needed someone bilingual to help with our community,” she said. “I’m going to be able to help my community, especially in the mortgage department, because I know how difficult it is for us to purchase a house, and it’s a big accomplishment for us as Latinos. That is something that makes me so proud.”
If you would like to help fund Goodwill’s programs and services that we offer to the community free of charge – like the ones that helped Carolina on her pathway to prosperity – consider dropping off your gently used donations at one of our locations or making a financial contribution.
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