Quala’s Second Chance Program Builds More Than Life Skills; LifeTrax Builds Community

When you hear “Second Chance Program” what do you think of? Chances are your mind goes to those looking to restart their life after prison or after struggling with drug addiction.

But those aren’t the only people LifeTrax, Quala’s Second Chance Program, is serving in its inaugural class of 10 employees.

“We have people recovering from substance abuse, people dealing with divorce, people who just want to improve their skills. We help anyone who needs it,” says Mike Bass, Director of EH&S and LifeTrax Mentor.

From corporate employees to tank wash technicians, the first round of classes truly included participants from all walks of life. Mentors from many different backgrounds taught classes and were matched with mentees to guide through the LifeTrax process.

Corporate office executives also jumped in to lend their support to the program. According to Bass, this inaugural class was as enthusiastic as it was diverse, creating a super interactive class environment that benefited everyone involved.

What is LifeTrax?

LifeTrax is all digital; a hybrid of weekly virtual class time and self-guided learning on Quala’s internal education platform.

But just because it’s digital doesn’t mean LifeTrax is impersonal. In fact it’s quite the opposite because of the one-on-one mentorship provided to the participants. Bass prides the program on the deep relationships mentorship creates, encouraging full communication and transparency between participants and their assigned mentors.

“We want to build a relationship that lasts past the class,” says Bass. Mentors stay in touch with participants on a daily basis – not just during class time.This is to make sure they keep up with the remote work but also to provide ongoing support and structure.

Beyond the relational element, there are also concrete skills being taught. The participants learn a variety of topics including personal finance, investing, maintaining healthy relationships, and goal setting.

At the end of the course participants receive a certificate of completion, a whole new set of skills, and the opportunity to become mentors themselves. But perhaps even more importantly, they’ll leave LifeTrax knowing they have the ongoing support of their classmates and mentors. 

“This program goes much deeper than just being able to manage your finances. It made me reevaluate how I manage failure and see success”

-Recent LifeTrax Participant

What’s Next for LifeTrax?

After this first round of classes, Mike and his fellow mentors are leaning into the self guided learning aspect to make sure the course is accessible to busy employees.

“We had one student who wasn’t calling in,” says Bass. He was worried this student wouldn’t receive the full benefits of LifeTrax and could even drop out.

But the mentors refused to give up, keeping the employee in the loop and offering alternative ways to participate which worked better with the participant’s schedule. Today, that employee is graduating the program with flying colors.

Learning from that experience, the mentors are looking to add more accommodations for employees who are busy during classtime to their next round of classes. They will also be adding IT topics such as computer skills and cyber security to their curriculum.

And there will be many more changes to come as the program evolves.

Quala is extremely proud to offer LifeTrax to our employees. As a People Driven Company we recognize that every one of our employees deserves the chance to succeed, no matter their background. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact our Marketing Department at [email protected] for a statement.