Ted McCarty, G.G., GIA senior corporate services specialist. Photo by Jaime Kautsky/GIA

Gemologist Ted McCarty's career has taken him from St. Louis to the Silicon Valley – with stops in the Middle East and Europe.

He says Hollywood icons Liza Minelli, Elton John and John Travolta have all been regular customers at his jewelry counter. He's served with the National Security Agency, worked for automobile giant Chrysler in its heyday, developed a number of high-end resort jewelry locations and helped lead brick-and-mortar stores into the Internet age.

A guy with this much experience could probably work just about anywhere, so why choose GIA?

It's simple: he wants to make a difference and knows GIA is the best place to do it.

"My goal is to educate the industry," McCarty says. "I want to train as many salespeople as I can."

McCarty first came to GIA as a student in the early 1980s. After settling into a secure job with Chrysler, he believed his career was set. But the company's infamous layoffs sent McCarty and more than half of the company's district managers scrambling to find new jobs.

Thanks to the U.S. government's Trade Readjustment Act, McCarty was able to get federal assistance for new career training. He'd worked for a manufacturing jeweler prior to his time with Chrysler, so he took the financial assistance and turned to GIA.

He earned his Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) diploma in 1981 and was hired by Hildgund Jewelers in Hawaii, became their vice president and went on to work at the chain's exclusive Mauna Lani Bay Hotel location. He eventually worked as a web producer at Jewelry.com, a regional sales representative for GemVision and a district manager for Whitehall Jewellers before coming to GIA in October of 2005 to serve as the Institute's senior corporate services specialist.

"Ted has a wealth of experience in the jewelry industry," says Bill Herberts, GIA's director of Education Operations. "What that experience has shown him – both from the people he's met and from his own personal experience – is what a difference a GIA education can make in a career. So he not only brings the perspective of experience, but a truly heartfelt belief that we can, and do, make a difference in people's careers and, ultimately, their lives."

McCarty's role is to encourage businesses to provide GIA training and Distance Education for employees through the Institute's Corporate Client Program. To qualify, they must register at least five students in any combination of the Accredited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.), G.G., School of Business or Pearls programs.

In return, they get a 10 percent discount on enrollments, a monthly progress report on each student, a full-time instructor assigned to their account and assistance in setting up GIA seminars in their area.

McCarty sees the investment as a small price to pay for educated employees.

"Customers pay a lot of money for jewelry and it seems to me that they should get accurate information from their jewelers. Our goal is to have trained people behind the counter so customers are served with knowledge and integrity," he said.

He believes the public should be protected, and he's seen the difference education can make for a jeweler's bottom line.

"The value of that GIA diploma on the wall is incalculable to the retail jeweler," he says. "And, after all, educated jewelers are successful jewelers."

Of the 140-plus retailers involved in the program, McCarty cites Ben Bridge and Tiffany & Co. as two of the most active.

Bev Hori, G.G., Ben Bridge's vice president of Education, believes the A.J.P. courses, in particular, have made a difference for her employees.

"The courses are developed and delivered in a way that people are able to be successful. Because of that, employees get excited and feel good about what they're doing," she says. "It helps us enroll more committed professionals in the jewelry industry, because once you get hooked on gemology and learn how exciting and challenging the industry is, then you're not just a salesperson at all - you're a jewelry professional."

McCarty enjoys helping clients like Hori bring employees to their full potential.

"Training is an ongoing, day-to-day process. It's done in relationships," he says. "GIA is an ally, and we want to serve the retailer as much as we can."