Ten community colleges received MetLife/Civic Ventures Encore Career
grants in 2007 to help boomers transition to encore careers. Another
eight community colleges received MetLife/Civic Ventures Encore Career
grants in 2009. Brief summaries of the previously funded programs can
be found below.
The 2009 Community College Encore Career Grant winners are:
Community College of Allegheny
County (Pittsburgh, PA) will train dislocated professionals
as certified Medical Office Managers – an occupation expected
to grow nationally by 16 percent through 2016. Sixty 50+ 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 (Spokane,
WA), a regional leader in sustainability training, will develop an innovative
program to help sixty 50+ adults make smooth transitions to new green
jobs. The 40-hour course will help participants explore
the nature of green jobs, learn how to become employed, or enroll in
additional certification training.
Grand Rapids Community College (Grand
Rapids, MI), recognized by AARP for employment programs targeted to
the needs of the 50+ population, will build on past success to expand
local employer connections through a new employer training program, and
will launch a course that increases the employability of 50 students for
encore careers in health care.
LaGuardia Community College (New
York, NY) will recruit twenty older immigrants who have worked professionally
in social service and health care fields in their native countries for
a course leading to employment as community health workers. People
in underserved NYC communities will receive needed health information
and services from these experienced, bilingual workers.
Ohlone College (Newark, CA)
will train seasoned electricians, general contractors, and trades people
to become mentors and team leaders for economically disadvantaged youths
entering the green-collar workforce. Twenty “Green
Encore Fellows” will
get intensive solar energy training to design and install green energy
systems and be placed with regional employers who have an urgent
need for skilled supervisors and trainers.
Rio Salado College (Tempe,
AZ) will increase the number of 50+ adults enrolled in teacher certification
programs through joint marketing and recruitment efforts with AARP and
local partners, including Experience Corps. Key elements of Rio’s
model are options for undergraduate and master’s degrees, an online
delivery format and a 24/7 helpdesk.
Southeastern Community
College (Whiteville, NC) will target outreach to 50+ low-income
and dislocated
workers whose traditional income sources have disappeared for emerging
green encore careers. A new weatherization skills class will prepare
30 students for placement in jobs linked to the county’s American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.
Union County College (Cranford,
NJ) will prepare 100 professionals and volunteers over 50 as adult educators
to fill the gaps in adult basic education, workforce development and
prisoner re-entry services. Support systems are
now strained for hard-to-employ individuals, including the increasing
pool of ex-offenders in need of jobs.
The 2007 Community College Encore Career Grant winners are:
Baltimore City Community College (Baltimore, MD) used
an executive outplacement model to help African American women over 50
develop the skills they need to transition to encore careers.
Broward Community College (Ft.
Lauderdale, FL) provided free seminars and career counseling for two
months to help boomers explore local encore career and service opportunities.
Central Piedmont Community College (Charlotte, NC)
provided experienced managers and executives with career coaching and
peer networking opportunities to help them transition to the nonprofit
sector.
Coastline Community College (Fountain
Valley, CA) offered courses for older students interested in gerontology
and elder-care careers.
Collin County Community
College (Allen, TX) targeted boomers who have been laid off
or retired from engineering and technology careers, helping them to
get fast-track certification to become certified high school math and
science teachers.
Gateway Community
College (Phoenix,
AZ) joined forces with local employers to help develop courses that
train boomers for careers as caregivers.
Owensboro Community and Technical College (Owensboro,
KY) encouraged experienced nurses to become adjunct nursing faculty
at the community college level – filling a critical need
to train the next generation of nursing students.
Portland Community College (Portland,
OR) established a peer mentoring program for students over 50 who are
enrolled in the college’s gerontology certificate or degree program,
to improve student support and boost retention.
The Virginia Community
College (Richmond, VA) launched a recruitment effort to attract
more boomers with college degrees to their existing fast-track teacher
licensure programs.
Washtenaw Community College (Ann
Arbor, MI) offered all-day encore career workshops for mid-career professionals
who have lost jobs, white and blue collar, and want retraining to find
social purpose work.
A profile of the 2007 encore college projects and lessons learned in
the first round of grants can be found in the October, 2008 publication: "Pathways
to Encore Careers: How 10 Community Colleges Are Preparing Boomers
for Work in Education, Health Care and Social Services," published
in October 2008 by the MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures.
The American Association of Community College Plus
50 Initiative is engaged in a three-year effort to create or expand
campus programs to engage the 50+ population in learning; training/re-training
programs; and/or volunteer, civic and service activities. Some Plus
50 Initiative grantees are creating pathways in encore career fields.
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