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November 2, 2008
Changing careers or re-entering the work force is daunting if you haven’t been job hunting for a while.
That’s why the Senior Community Service Employment Program part of the nonprofit corporation, Experience Works , offers classes and training to unemployed people ages 55 and older. The program, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, helps people determine their strengths, then helps them find positions at other nonprofit agencies so they can gain work experience.
Ed Finch, Experience Works employment and training coordinator in Grand Forks, oversees the program in 15 northeast North Dakota counties.
About 130 people typically participate in the program annually, Finch said. In the past few years the typical age of the people who take part in the program has dropped from age 65 to ages 55 to 65, he said.
The high cost of fuel appears to be the main reason people have taken part in the Experience Works program during the last year. Health care and medical bills also prompt people to return to the work force. Although people who want to enroll in the program must meet income qualifications, Experience Works staff will offer assistance to others, as well.
“Our mission as an organization is to help older workers, period,” Finch said.
Jobs participants are trained for include being a file clerk, a receptionist or retail salesperson, Finch said.
Experience Works, formerly known as the Green Thumb program, also has a program called the Job Club which teaches classes on a variety of topics for job seekers, including networking and job applications.
Successful participants
Mike Hesterberg, a participant in the Experience Works program, works as a Senior Community Service Employment program assistant for the non-profit corporation.
Program participants who have the desire, type of training and people and public speaking skills are selected to be assistants for the program, Finch said.
After Hesterberg was laid off his job as a bus driver, the possibility of being an administrator intrigued him, but he didn’t have the skills to do the job, he said.
“I had never handled anything in an administrative position. I was a driver. I knew where the gas pedal was and where the dip stick was and where the brake was.”
Experience Works has taught Hesterberg skills from filing to helping other program participants. He enjoys his new job.
“I use my creative thought processes and ingenuity in ways that I never did before.”
Hesterberg is just one of Experience Works’ success stories.
“One of my assistants is manager of a Radio Shack in Mitchell, South Dakota,” Finch said. “I was pretty proud of that one.”
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