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April 16, 2009
With the way the economy is going, people are losing their jobs left and right and others are finding it even harder to get one. But with the help of several mature workers programs, people 55 and over are finding it a little easier to find a job.
“It is not that hard to find placement (for mature workers),” said Rodney Brown, director of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh’s Mature Workers Program. “A lot of companies call and ask for mature workers. They provide a good work ethic and dependability.”
Mature Workers Programs are where individuals 55 years or older are given the proper training to either re-enter the workforce or continue in it. The Urban League has been offering one for more than 30 years. This year alone they have serviced about 146 people.
Brown said a lot of the participants have not worked for a while, and some have never worked at all, and find themselves alone after the death of a spouse. He said the program provides individuals with training and provides them with an opportunity to build skills to find a job. After his program places them in a job, they follow up with not only employers, but also the individual to make sure the placement is going well and they are getting the support needed.
For someone to get involved in the program, they must first contact the office and then fill out several documents to make sure they meet requirements. After they are found to be eligible for the program, they come in, speak with someone about what their employment goals are, then a training program is found and the candidate must interview to make sure it is a good fit. Once the training is found and completed, the work search phase begins. The Urban League and the individual look for employment, but while this is being done, the individual participates in several mock interviews and their resume is updated with their new skills. Once a job is found, they are placed in it and followed up on for one-year.
Alphonso Randolph was a former owner of a business, located Downtown on Wood Street. When Lazarus’ Department Store was torn down, the street where his business was came under construction. As a result, he lost his business and had to close. He then entered the program.
“I was in the program for a couple of years,” Randolph, 63, an administrative assistant to the executive director at the Mt. Washington Community Development and former program participant, said. “They put me through Bidwell, I graduated and then I was sent to Mt. Washington Community Development.” Randolph has been there for the past two and a half years.
He says that 15 to 20 years ago he never would have believed he would have entered a program like this. He said it bettered his life and who knows where he would be without it. He is very indebted to Brown because he was like a mentor. “There is a difference between being in charge of helping and wanting to help. And Mr. Brown wanted to help.”
Like Brown and Randolph, Margaret Young, a former participant, believes the program does more than just help with job skills. She says the program also helps with one’s inner being. They all agree that the Mature Workers Program helps build self-esteem and keeps people from just sitting and letting life go by.
“I want to drop into their spirit that they (mature workers) can do more than just sit at home or volunteer and not get paid.” Young is the outreach coordinator for the Mature Workers Program and an employee of the Urban League’s hunger service. “I am recruiting seniors by posting flyers, sending them to churches and passing them out everywhere I go. The economy is getting bad and I want them to know that they (seniors) do not have to just depend on a Social Security check. Sometimes that’s all they think they can get, but there are more options,” she said.
When asked about age discrimination and whether it is thought to be an issue in finding a job, both former participants said they do not think that is the case. Randolph says, “I am sure it is still there, but not like it was 40 or so years ago. Doors have been opened, especially since the last election because I never thought I’d see Mr. Obama be the president. It gives a person something to strive for and lets them know that endless things can occur.”
Brown says age discrimination is not an issue. He finds that more people prefer mature workers and at times ask for them.
Along with the Urban League, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons has several programs of their own designed to help mature individuals. AARP is an organization designed for individuals 55 years or older.
One of their programs is the Senior Employment Program, which is geared toward low-income individuals, 55 and over. Karrie Valauri, director of the Pittsburgh Branch of AARP, says this program allows individuals to get back on their feet and network with people about what they want to do.
The other program is the WorkSearch program, which gives an online assessment for people 40 and over, regardless of income, and helps them identify what career they want to choose or where they want to go next with their current one. It assesses what skills they have and what skills are needed to go further. Then it identifies what training is needed.
“It is a fantastic instrument. It helps identify skill sets and skill gaps,” Valauri said. “And it is not only good for people looking for jobs or the next step, but it is also great for employers, too.”
Roberta Davis, an employment specialist for the AARP Foundation WorkSearch in Pittsburgh, adds that this program is a good morale builder.
Once an individual identifies what their career goal is, a job is found and the person is placed there. While there, the person can get a feel of what it takes to do the job and to see if it is something they really want to do.
“When we look for placement, we also take a realistic look at what the person wants to do. For example, if a person says I want to work in an office setting, but I do not want to work with computers, we are not going to place them in an office because essentially in today’s world, one needs computer skills to work in an office.”
Davis also says that the job an individual finds or is placed in may not be their first choice, but it helps to get their foot in the door and move up if the opportunity arises.
According to Valauri, the program has helped 200-400 people in any given year and has a success rate of 75 percent of helping people find employment. She also estimates that more than 80 percent of people are still employed at their placement after one year.
Like Brown, Valauri agrees that age discrimination is not an issue. She said, “We have a lot of employers contacting the national AARP offices trying to find out what they can do to attract and even retain individuals aged 40- plus.”
She said AARP has received an $18 million stimulus package, which will make the organization better able to help even more people. The Urban League stated in a press release that their Mature Workers Program will also receive economic stimulus funds.
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