Colleges awarded training grants for 'encore' careers
By CC Times,
Published July 1, 2009
Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation have awarded eight $25,000 grants to community colleges to support programs that retrain adults for jobs as solar panel installers, bilingual community health workers and math and science teachers, among others.
The colleges were selected from more than 100 applicants for their innovative approaches to matching baby boomer talent with social purpose jobs that fill specific, local workforce needs-including green jobs.
“Even in good economic times, it’s not easy to get from the end of a midlife career to the beginning of an encore career,” said Marc Freedman, CEO and founder of Civic Ventures. “In these tough times, community colleges are stepping up to provide a vital bridge to older job seekers who want work that means something to them.”
Launched by Civic Ventures—a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose—and MetLife Foundation, the Community College Encore Initiative provides support to community colleges that are updating their offerings to help people over age 50 prepare for “encore” careers, which combine continued income with personal meaning and social impact. A survey in 2008 funded by both organizations found that half of those surveyed between the ages of 44 and 70 said they are interested in pursuing an encore career.
The $25,000 grants go to community colleges in eight states—Arizona, California, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington—that are testing, marketing or expanding courses to retrain baby boomers for jobs in education, health care, social services and, new this year, green jobs.
The 2009 grantees include:
- Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania will train dislocated professionals as certified medical office managers, an occupation expected to grow nationally by 16 percent through 2016. Students will move into the growing regional health care field working in physicians’ offices, medical clinics, medical practices and hospital health care facilities.
- Community Colleges of Spokane in Washington will develop a program to help older adults make smooth transitions to green jobs through a course that helps participants explore the nature of green jobs, learn how to become employed or enroll in additional certification training.
- Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan will expand local employer connections through a new employer training program and will launch a course that increases the employability of students for encore careers in health care.
- LaGuardia Community College in New York will focus on older immigrants who have worked professionally in the social services and health care fields in their native countries. They will be recruited for training leading to employment as community health workers, providing people in underserved New York communities with needed health information and services from experienced, bilingual workers.
- Ohlone College in California will train seasoned electricians, general contractors and tradespeople as mentors and team leaders for economically disadvantaged youths entering the green-collar workforce. Some of the “green encore fellows” will receive intensive solar energy training to design and install green energy systems and be placed with employers who have an urgent need for skilled supervisors and trainers.
- Rio Salado College in Arizona aims to increase the number of 50-plus adults enrolled in teacher certification programs through marketing and recruitment efforts with AARP and local partners.
- Southeastern Community College in North Carolina will reach out to older low-income and dislocated workers whose traditional income sources have disappeared and provide them the skills to apply for emerging green encore careers.
- Union County College in New Jersey will prepare older professionals and volunteers as adult educators to fill the gaps in adult basic education, workforce development and prisoner re-entry services.
“By investing in our nation’s community colleges, we are opening more doors to older Americans in need of affordable and flexible retraining,” said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “This initiative supports colleges on the forefront of tapping the talent of older adults to meet community needs, and also provides a road map for other colleges to follow.”
After a year of implementing their initiatives, the colleges will collaborate with Civic Ventures to report on lessons learned from their programs and to make recommendations on how best to provide courses that work for baby boomers interested in encore careers.
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