“The one who is willing to work shall be equipped to work.” Free workforce retraining for the technologically displaced, wrapped in faith and community.
Begin Your Journey“If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” — “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to work with your hands, so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”2 Thessalonians 3:10 · 1 Thessalonians 4:11
For eleven years, Rickey Jay Bennett II preached the dignity of labor on the streets of America. Not from a pulpit. Without credentials or institutional backing — only a Bible and a conviction that work is sacred. That the capacity for productive, dignified labor is not a feature of economic life but a feature of human nature, given by a Creator who worked in the beginning.
She preached this from the exact position of someone the economy had left behind. For twenty-three years she navigated homelessness, instability, and a labor market that strips a willing worker of every foothold. She understood from the inside what it means to be willing, to be able, to be trying — and still to be without.
The Thessalonian Mandate Institute is what she built when she stopped waiting for someone else to build it. It was founded on the conviction that the work mandate of scripture is not a comfort. It is a command — and a command carries with it a corresponding obligation. When technology displaces a worker from their vocation, the community of faith is obligated to equip.
The mandate stands. Now we build.
TMI does not deliver curriculum — it delivers people to curriculum that already exists, wraps that journey in community and theological purpose, and provides the case management, accountability, and job placement support that free platforms cannot. Our job does not end until you have a job.
Displacement is not only an economic crisis. It is a spiritual one. Prayer, scripture, and a community that understands the theological weight of being removed from your vocation.
Accountability partners, weekly cohort check-ins, and navigation support through every platform. You do not figure out the coursework alone. That is what the cohort is for.
Long-term displacement leaves marks. We do not rush past them. We sit with you in it and move forward together when you are ready.
Resume building, LinkedIn profile creation, mock interviews, and direct connections to the Institute’s employer network. Graduation is not the finish line. Employment is.
Every pathway below costs participants nothing. Every credential is industry-recognized and employer-verifiable. We help you choose the right path, stay on track, and complete it.
The fastest entry point into technology employment. Help desk and IT support roles exist at every organization of every size. No prior experience required.
One of the highest-demand fields in technology with a severe talent shortage. No prior IT experience required for the Google certificate pathway.
Cloud skills are required across virtually every technology role. Azure Fundamentals is the most accessible entry point and opens doors across Microsoft’s entire ecosystem. *AZ-900 exam voucher (~$165) — the Institute pursues Microsoft for Nonprofits voucher coverage for all participants.
Data skills are the most broadly applicable technical competency in the modern economy. Entry-level roles exist across every industry sector.
The most immediately practical pathway for workers displaced by AI specifically. Teaches participants to work with AI tools rather than be replaced by them. Applicable across every industry and role type.
The foundational pathway for participants moving into administrative, clerical, and office support roles. Broad applicability across every employment sector.
No participant is turned away for lack of baseline skills. This pathway is for anyone who needs foundational computer, internet, and device proficiency before entering a technical track. It is the prerequisite for every other pathway — and it is where we meet you if that is where you are.
Foundational project management skills applicable across virtually every employment sector. One of the most recognized entry-level credentials available. No prior experience required.
In demand across every organization that operates online — which is virtually all of them. Opens roles in marketing coordination, social media management, content production, and small business support. No prior experience required.
Completed by every Institute participant in Week 1, regardless of their individual track. Professional communication, time management, conflict resolution, and job search strategy. Every participant earns an IBM digital badge in their very first week.
Available standalone or alongside any other pathway. Resume construction, LinkedIn profile development, job search strategy, and interview preparation — free for Austin Public Library cardholders. The Institute coordinates library card access for participants who need it.
High-demand skills across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and service industries. Communication, de-escalation, point-of-sale, and customer relationship management. IBM issues a recognized badge upon completion.
Available alongside any other pathway. Reading, writing, and professional communication for participants whose first language is not English or who need foundational literacy support. No participant is turned away for language barriers.
Foundational financial knowledge that multiplies the value of every other pathway. Budgeting, banking, savings, credit, tax basics, and financial planning. Especially critical for participants emerging from long-term displacement, where financial instability compounds every other barrier.
For participants whose best path to stability is self-employment. Business structure, basic bookkeeping, marketing, customer acquisition, pricing, invoicing, and cash flow management. The mandate applies equally to the worker and the entrepreneur.
Human beings were not created to learn alone. All pathways are delivered in cohorts of 8–15 participants. Community accountability is one of the most powerful drivers of completion in adult workforce training. This is a theological conviction, not a logistical preference.
Pathway selection, digital literacy baseline, and device access coordination for participants without equipment.
All participants complete IBM Workplace Readiness together, building cohort identity and earning a digital credential immediately.
Individual pathway training with weekly cohort check-ins, peer support, and Institute navigation assistance.
Resume building, LinkedIn profile, mock interviews, and direct employer network introductions. Graduation and credential presentation.
Graduates mentor incoming cohorts, fulfilling the theological obligation of the equipped to equip others.
Your feedback shapes how we walk with the next cohort. You do not have to be doing well to write to us — especially then.
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Your words go directly to shepherd_jade@thessalonian-mandate-institute.org
Tell us where you are. We will meet you there. There is no cost, no obligation, and no judgment — just community and a path forward.
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You will need a Gmail account — you will need one anyway for Google Career Certificates.
Your application goes directly to shepherd_jade@thessalonian-mandate-institute.org