Sue Cardamone, of the Welland Job Gym at 225 East Main St., provides counselling, workshops and one-on-one support to adults aged 55 to 64 entering into a second career.
With a little help from the Job Gym, that pursuit is made easier for adults who have been let go from their jobs and are looking for second careers, said manager Deanna Villella.
Experience Works, the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW), is a provincial program funded through the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. It’s a free program geared toward adults aged 55 to 64 living in communities hit hard by job loss and suffering high unemployment rates.
“Welland is one of those communities,” she said.
There are a lot of “mixed messages,” that older people in the workforce are not computer savvy or they can’t do shift work. But that simply isn’t true, said Villella.
“(Older workers) have a lot of experience and time on their side.”
Sue Cardamone has been running TIOW at the Job Gym on East Main St. for the past three years.
She offers a three-week workshop Mondays to Thursdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to talk about the advantages of older workers, how to prepare resumes, perform job searches and how to have successful interviews. The next workshop begins in September.
The job counsellor said the program has a success rate of about 80%.
Each workshop consists of about 15 people and “participants going through the same feelings can often relate to each other.”
Cardamone also provides one-on-one job counseling as well as helping job seekers prepare a planning strategy to help reach their career goals.
If they qualify, Cardamone said job seekers may be eligible to receive funding to go back to school to gain additional skills for the workforce.
About 35% of the clients served by the Job Gym are seniors who have lost their jobs due the economic downturn, said Villella.
And when people lose their jobs, it’s similar to losing a loved one because “there is a grieving process.”
Individuals go through the stages of denial, anger, and bargaining before they can come to terms with their job loss.
“Sometimes people fall into a job and they stay in it for a long time,” Villella said.
But when a job loss occurs, the experience doesn’t have to be a terrible one.
“It’s a chance for people to pursue a passion they’ve always dreamed of doing.”
Looking for a second career can be an intimidating experience but it doesn’t have to be because there is support, she said, referring to the TIOW program.
“If you want a career you have to make your own opportunities and that often means stepping outside your comfort zone.”
For more information contact the Job Gym at 905-732-7655.
Experience Works
The program is designed to provide adults aged 55 to 64 with support to transition into new jobs through one-on-one counselling, developing a planning strategy and a three-week workshop.
Job seekers must be unemployed, or working less than 20 hours a week, ready to work, and reside in Welland.
Source: Welland Tribune