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ENLARGE
Contract instructor Marguerite Garrison leads a recent GED prep class at the Umpqua Training & Employment center in Roseburg. Behind her are Chelsea Belleci and Eric Pickle.
A man packed textbooks into a plastic bag before leaving the Umpqua Training & Employment office earlier this fall.
“This bag of books is like a box of gold,” the man told those around him.
That's what UT&E hopes will happen for displaced workers who come through their doors on Hill Avenue behind the Garden Valley Shopping Center in Roseburg.
UT&E offers people assistance in finding jobs or building up skills and connects employers to the actively looking work force.
Most services are provided free.
Following the same timeline as the soured economy, the local nonprofit group has seen a higher amount of people coming through its doors since summer 2008, from 1,904 to 2,743 as of Sept. 17.
UT&E Vice President Susan Buell said with the rate of incoming people, although UT&E is doing fine financially, orientations to match people up with the right services or education track are currently scheduled out to February.
UT&E is continuing to add orientation sections to quickly help as many people as possible return to the work force, whether they be laid-off workers, mothers, young people helping pay family bills or older people returning to employment.
Help from UT&E may involve hooking up people with job options or exploring whether they need to be retrained.
“We're trying to open that door as wide as possible,” Buell said.
While the foot traffic has worn a well-beaten path into UT&E, the rate at which people exit to get back to work is down compared to past years.
Before last summer, about 90 percent of the dislocated workers with whom UT&E worked were able to land jobs. Adults brushing up on basic skills had an 82 percent success rate at getting employment.
Now, Buell said, about 55 to 60 percent of both adults and dislocated workers haven't found employment.
“That's significant. That is significant and that is why we have to engage them in other activities,” Buell said, ticking off services that include skills courses and work experience.
In addition, Buell said people working through UT&E used to spend about two or three months before they roped a job.
Job-seekers are now spending about six to eight months looking for work.
Sutherlin resident Ronda Osborn, 48, is going through UT&E and attending classes at Umpqua Community College to get a degree in civil engineering.
Osborn was one of about 150 people laid off from North River Boats when it ran aground earlier this year.
She had worked for the boat manufacturer since 2005, and before that she spent 13 years working at Bayliner.
“I've always worked manufacturing-type jobs and there's not a lot of that around here anymore,” Osborn said.
She checked in with UT&E and chose civil engineering as something that could keep her physically and mentally occupied and, she said, allow her to keep working when age limited her to a drafting table.
Buell said part of the orientation process is looking at people's skills and interests. During that time, people may realize that an area in which they're interested, such as art or music, will need to be a hobby.
Ideally, seekers will be able to find jobs at which they can make a living and still find fulfillment, Buell said.
What's available in the market also plays a big role, too.
Unlike in past years, Buell said UT&E now steers people toward jobs that are in demand in the area because the job shortage is so widespread.
Hot jobs in the area right now include accounting and early childhood education.
Buell said often workers just need a few brush-up courses, tweaks or updates to get them off and rolling.
Others, like Osborn, choose to enroll in certificate or degree programs.
UT&E has had close to 500 students take this track since July last summer, 97 of whom registered for classes in the last two weeks of September. The majority of those are attending Umpqua Community College.
To pay for classes, Osborn is using a combination of financial aid and unemployment called Training Unemployment Insurance.
Buell said the insurance program requires more paperwork to be filled out before people can enroll in college courses. She recommends people interested in that option ask UT&E for assistance.
Enrolling in classes prior to getting state approval for Training Unemployment puts students in a position of paying back that money later.
Osborn said in a way, being a casualty of a shrinking work force was the push she needed to move up and that she's enjoying UCC.
“I'm back with all my friends from Bayliner,” she said.
But the new road in life isn't Easy Street for the woman whose formal education ended in eighth grade.
“It's hard. I tell you what – when they tell you you need to finish school, you need to,” she said. “This is a shock to my system.”
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
“This bag of books is like a box of gold,” the man told those around him.
That's what UT&E hopes will happen for displaced workers who come through their doors on Hill Avenue behind the Garden Valley Shopping Center in Roseburg.
UT&E offers people assistance in finding jobs or building up skills and connects employers to the actively looking work force.
Most services are provided free.
Following the same timeline as the soured economy, the local nonprofit group has seen a higher amount of people coming through its doors since summer 2008, from 1,904 to 2,743 as of Sept. 17.
UT&E Vice President Susan Buell said with the rate of incoming people, although UT&E is doing fine financially, orientations to match people up with the right services or education track are currently scheduled out to February.
UT&E is continuing to add orientation sections to quickly help as many people as possible return to the work force, whether they be laid-off workers, mothers, young people helping pay family bills or older people returning to employment.
Help from UT&E may involve hooking up people with job options or exploring whether they need to be retrained.
“We're trying to open that door as wide as possible,” Buell said.
While the foot traffic has worn a well-beaten path into UT&E, the rate at which people exit to get back to work is down compared to past years.
Before last summer, about 90 percent of the dislocated workers with whom UT&E worked were able to land jobs. Adults brushing up on basic skills had an 82 percent success rate at getting employment.
Now, Buell said, about 55 to 60 percent of both adults and dislocated workers haven't found employment.
“That's significant. That is significant and that is why we have to engage them in other activities,” Buell said, ticking off services that include skills courses and work experience.
In addition, Buell said people working through UT&E used to spend about two or three months before they roped a job.
Job-seekers are now spending about six to eight months looking for work.
Sutherlin resident Ronda Osborn, 48, is going through UT&E and attending classes at Umpqua Community College to get a degree in civil engineering.
Osborn was one of about 150 people laid off from North River Boats when it ran aground earlier this year.
She had worked for the boat manufacturer since 2005, and before that she spent 13 years working at Bayliner.
“I've always worked manufacturing-type jobs and there's not a lot of that around here anymore,” Osborn said.
She checked in with UT&E and chose civil engineering as something that could keep her physically and mentally occupied and, she said, allow her to keep working when age limited her to a drafting table.
Buell said part of the orientation process is looking at people's skills and interests. During that time, people may realize that an area in which they're interested, such as art or music, will need to be a hobby.
Ideally, seekers will be able to find jobs at which they can make a living and still find fulfillment, Buell said.
What's available in the market also plays a big role, too.
Unlike in past years, Buell said UT&E now steers people toward jobs that are in demand in the area because the job shortage is so widespread.
Hot jobs in the area right now include accounting and early childhood education.
Buell said often workers just need a few brush-up courses, tweaks or updates to get them off and rolling.
Others, like Osborn, choose to enroll in certificate or degree programs.
UT&E has had close to 500 students take this track since July last summer, 97 of whom registered for classes in the last two weeks of September. The majority of those are attending Umpqua Community College.
To pay for classes, Osborn is using a combination of financial aid and unemployment called Training Unemployment Insurance.
Buell said the insurance program requires more paperwork to be filled out before people can enroll in college courses. She recommends people interested in that option ask UT&E for assistance.
Enrolling in classes prior to getting state approval for Training Unemployment puts students in a position of paying back that money later.
Osborn said in a way, being a casualty of a shrinking work force was the push she needed to move up and that she's enjoying UCC.
“I'm back with all my friends from Bayliner,” she said.
But the new road in life isn't Easy Street for the woman whose formal education ended in eighth grade.
“It's hard. I tell you what – when they tell you you need to finish school, you need to,” she said. “This is a shock to my system.”
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
Umpqua Community College sees rise in students
Like Umpqua Training & Employment, Umpqua Community College has grown with the recession, reporting growth of almost 30 percent this fall.The first few days of classes created mild havoc as students attempted to find parking spots in full lots.
Financial aid requests have increased so much that the department has had to shutter its window two weeks this fall just so employees could wrangle through the paperwork.
The Associated Students of UCC held several orientations for new students. In the past, only one has been held.
Before classes began, Ross Tomlin, vice president of instruction, said UCC was beating the bushes to find more instructors to open up more core curriculum classes and meet the demand.
A career fair to hire part-time instructors was scheduled Wednesday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds to meet continued need during this winter term.
There seems to be no one population or reason driving the huge increase.
Officials say the uptick can be attributed in part by the economy. But they also tout their many new programs, such as those for aspiring paralegals and dental hygienists, as well as the Southern Oregon Wine Institute.
Instructors report seeing a good mix of older and younger students. In addition, high school counselors say they're seeing a number of seniors planning on community college instead of four-year universities to curb loans and living expenses.
