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Laid Off? School May Be the Answer

MASON CITY, Iowa — In this tough economy, the path from a layoff to a new career often runs through a classroom.

After Shannon Boge was laid off twice from factory jobs within a year, she knew it was time for a different occupation. “My only chance is to go back to school,” she recalls deciding. “I’ve got to do this, and that’s it.”

Millions of laid-off workers are being forced to make tough decisions about their futures. Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost more than 5 million jobs. In March, U.S. employers cut 663,000 jobs.

Pursuing a new career — even one that pays less — can be an easy call for people whose old jobs have disappeared, forcing them to re-evaluate their version of the American dream.

Boge, 30, who has two sons, is studying at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) here. She’s willing to trade the bigger paycheck that came from working 10 or more hours of overtime at the factory every week for a 40-hour-a-week job that doesn’t require her to work overnight shifts or worry about the next round of layoffs.

She plans to become a physical therapy assistant, Boge says, “because anything in the medical field is pretty safe right now.”

Federal and state tuition aid for displaced workers entering college and vocational programs can make returning to school an appealing option: Students often can continue to collect unemployment benefits. Boge gets financial aid that covers most of her school costs and receives unemployment benefits as long as she’s enrolled.

The $787 billion economic stimulus bill signed in February by President Obama includes $1.7 billion for adult employment services, including training, according to the Department of Labor.

Even so, the transition from old dreams to new realities can be painful. Leontine Jameson, manager of The Employment Transition Center in Henrico County near Richmond, Va., says many laid-off workers are “struggling to find jobs in the same field, at the same salary level.”

Eventually, she says, “many will realize they need to look at another path.”

To attract laid-off workers, community colleges and technical schools are tailoring programs to appeal to adults who need new skills, working with local companies to match their needs and sending staff into factories and other workplaces to spread the word about state and federal retraining assistance.

There’s growing demand for certificates and degrees that can be earned in a year or less and for training in emerging fields such as wind- and solar-energy technology and “green” construction.

When the recession eases, those industries might be among the first to start hiring. Many laid-off workers also are signing up for classes in old-school trades that still are in demand: heating and air-conditioning installation and repair, welding and truck driving.

Click through for list of states that will receive stimulus money for schooling →

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