Universal Careers; 14-day emt boot camp

[Wolfpack87]

Well, the expense includes a room for those two weeks. I agree that Pelham looks, at least on the outside, to be a legitimate school, except for the fact that they had to partner up with a service like Universal Careers.

I agree with this possibility, but it is also possible that Universal Careers could be using Pelham as a hook for their own scams... for instance, I currently work for Apple Computers as a support tech and developer... how many companies out there put an "i" in front of their products name to make it sound like it's from Apple? iEMT, I bet Apple made that, it must be shiny, I must have it... lol

Point here being, I've heard all good about Pelham from hospitals and fire stations right here in Indiana. I think the unfortunate truth here, is someone was trying to use Pelham as a tool for their dirty work, and they gave them an undeserving bad name. IMO

 

[emt seeking first job]

Well, the expense includes a room for those two weeks. I agree that Pelham looks, at least on the outside, to be a legitimate school, except for the fact that they had to partner up with a service like Universal Careers.

Can one attend Pelham directly, with out going through Universal Careers ?

 

[JPINFV]

I believe so...

http://www.pelhamtraining.com/

Also, looking at the UC website the last time this came up, I think they changed their training location since it's now listed as being in Fredericksburg, VA. The Pelham location was based off of this letter that could be found through Google...

http://www.universalcareers.org/images/pdf/universal_careers_enrollment_martina.pdf

 

[William]

I dont thing they are scam, i think they are one of the bests out there. Not actually checking them and speaking such things is not right in my opinion. And Everyone must agree with it.

 

[JPINFV]

So.. wait... we must agree with you despite you not bringing anything to the discussion?

 

[DesertMedic66]

So.. wait... we must agree with you despite you not bringing anything to the discussion?

You heard him. We have to agree with him. So I agree

 

[Tommerag]

I know its fun but,

:nosoupfortroll:

 

[CWheeler]

Attorney for Pelham Training

I realize this is an old thread of conversation, but I only just became aware of the thread, and have now become a member of EMTLIFE in order to post a reply to this thread.

Last year I became aware of an organization known as Universal Careers that was falsely advertising some kind of connection, affiliation or business relationship with Pelham Specialty Training, Inc. Please let it be known that Pelham Specialty Training, Inc. has never had any sort of business relationship with Universal Careers whatsoever. As soon as I learned of this false advertising by Universal Careers, I contacted them and demanded that they cease any and all references to Pelham Specialty Training in any way. Failing to do just that, and they would suffer immediate legal action by Pelham Training. Pelham Training is in no way affiliated with Universal Careers. Has never had any business dealings with that organization, and has never had any contact with them save for my one phone call to them to threaten them with certain legal action should they continue in their false ways. I cannot say that Universal Careers is a sham or a scam. But I have a hard time finding any other way to accurately describe them after the conversation I had with one of their people. I hope the public at large remains very cautious and does their homework before commiting their hard earned money to such a program. Thank you. Christopher J. Wheeler, attorney and in house counsel for Pelham Specialty Training, Inc.

 

[nwhitney]

I just went to Universal Careers website. They have a "beware of scam" section on their main page, made me laugh. Did you know their program offers a "national certification by the state"? Didn't know The Sate issued national certs. I wonder where The State is located. Is it near the coast?

 

[JPINFV]

I realize this is an old thread of conversation, but I only just became aware of the thread, and have now become a member of EMTLIFE in order to post a reply to this thread.

Last year I became aware of an organization known as Universal Careers that was falsely advertising some kind of connection, affiliation or business relationship with Pelham Specialty Training, Inc. Please let it be known that Pelham Specialty Training, Inc. has never had any sort of business relationship with Universal Careers whatsoever. As soon as I learned of this false advertising by Universal Careers, I contacted them and demanded that they cease any and all references to Pelham Specialty Training in any way. Failing to do just that, and they would suffer immediate legal action by Pelham Training. Pelham Training is in no way affiliated with Universal Careers. Has never had any business dealings with that organization, and has never had any contact with them save for my one phone call to them to threaten them with certain legal action should they continue in their false ways. I cannot say that Universal Careers is a sham or a scam. But I have a hard time finding any other way to accurately describe them after the conversation I had with one of their people. I hope the public at large remains very cautious and does their homework before commiting their hard earned money to such a program. Thank you. Christopher J. Wheeler, attorney and in house counsel for Pelham Specialty Training, Inc.

Thank you very much for your reply regarding Universal Careers. Best of wishes for Pelham Specialty Training!

 

[Jon]

cWheeler - thanks for your post expressing your side of things.

Oh, and Universal Careers has been invited to dispute this info publicly here if they choose. And they have not taken that invitation as of yet.

I'm not saying it's a scam. But if you want EMT training, there are probably better options locally for you.

 

[tecunuman]

Be very careful when dealing with universalcareers.org

I recently answered an ad on craigslist that read something to the effect of: "State accredited school is seeking a sales person to advise people interested in receiving a state sponsored grant and enroll them in one of our online programs."
I've been in sales for 10 years and have worked at a few places, and interviewed with many prospective employers. I replied to the ad, and shortly thereafter was contacted by a man who identified himself as the "Sales Manager", he asked me a few questions and then set up a time for me to come in to interview for the position.
I took down the address and upon arrival I had to double check the number on the building, as the run down multi purpose building that matched the number that I was given over the phone did NOT look like a campus, not even like an administrative type of building. I made my way inside and found the suite # for my interview. My first impression was that this office was set up overnight and just as easily could be taken down and moved elsewhere. There were wires, cables, extension cords and debris all over the place. A few "desks" which were no more than $20 Ikea tables were set up throughout the "office".
I met with the sales manager who pitched me their angle. I would be issued a prepaid cellphone, then would search through leads on jobs and headhunters. Usually the leads would be generated when someone visits their website universalcareers.org and expresses their interest in one of their many online work study programs. In particular they were in need of salespeople to sell their Medical Billing Work Study Program.
The pitch is that a Merit Grant has been established and that each city is only awarded $50,000.00 so the prospective student must hurry to apply for one of these $5,000.00 Merit Grants, as only 10 will receive such grant in each city. In order to apply a student must immediately pay $150.00 for a felony background check and for the purpose of "Processing the application". They are told that if they don't qualify for the grant, their money will be refunded.
Supposedly it takes 2 days to know if they qualify for the grant. If they are pre approved (and everybody is, as the $50,000.00 per city is complete B.S.) then they are sent their 7 text books. Here's the beauty of their little set-up. They tell the students that they can go at their own pace and finish the course in as little as 3 months, or in 36 months. The catch: In order to advance to each new chapter and take the required open book quiz, they must pay $245. The total cost of the program is $35,000.00.
There is no campus, everything is done online. If the poor people who sign up with them are somehow able to pay for their chapters, they will also "place" them in a job while they study and complete the course. These people are led to believe that they'll be placed in an externship program where they will acquire the skills necessary to break into their particular field of study. The truth is that all that Universalcareers will do is scour the craigslist and hotjobs listings in the respective student's area and send them these "leads" so that they may apply themselves and settle for whatever entry level type jobs are available.
Red flags all over the place. Needless to say, I did not accept this "job" offer. The make-shift office, the absolute lack of professionalism, their false promises and premises under which they operate are completely deplorable. The fact that they don't have a landline phone in the office is enough to make one wonder what they're hiding from. Why are they using prepaid cell phones? I thought the only people who used these communications devices were motorcycle gangs! Oh and wait for this... They have no way of securing the information of the people who trust them with their social security number, Driver's license, credit card and bank account numbers. This data was scattered throughout their "offices", scribbled on pieces of paper and saved on Excel spreadsheets on their computers. I've never been at a place where such liberties are taken with sensitive and personal information.
Bottom line people: Stay away from this place. See for yourself, try contacting them and ask for names (not aliases), their roles in the "school", then check with your state to see if they are in fact accredited as they imply that they are. They are counting on P.T. Barnum's legendary statement that "A sucker is born every minute." Don't be one.