FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mike Faber, Director - Older Learner Center, 234-3483 | Vicki
Hudson, Associate Director - Communications, 234-4206
Grand Rapids Community College Wins National Grant for
Pioneering Program to Retrain Boomers for Encore Careers
Pilot Will Help People over 50 Prepare for Local Jobs in the Growing Health Care
Sector
Grand Rapids, MI , June 30, 2009 – Civic Ventures, a think tank on boomers, work, and social purpose, and Metlife Foundation awarded $25,000 to Grand Rapids Community College today to support a targeted retraining program aimed at area adults over the age of 50 eager to prepare for new careers such as those in the health care field.
Grand Rapids Community College was one of eight community colleges selected from a nationwide pool of 100 applicants and chosen for its innovative approach to matching boomer talent with social purpose jobs that fill specific local workforce needs.
Funding will support an expansion of GRCC’s Project Mature Worker program which is aimed at building employment opportunities for workers ages 50+ in partnership with Manpower Employment Services, the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan (AAAWM), local Michigan Works! Agencies and through area health care employers. Project Mature Worker will:
- Enroll 50 students, age 50 or older, in two pilot classes which will focus on 21st century workplace skills and will include computer and soft employability skills courses.
- Provide training to 10 health care employers on the value and impact of hiring 50+ workers.
- Document 25 new hires who are 50+ by participating employers from referring providers.
- Create a regional process that fosters the increased hiring of 50+ workers.
Launched in 2007 by Civic Ventures and MetLife Foundation, the Community College Encore Career Project provides support to community colleges that are updating their own offerings to help people over 50 prepare for encore careers combining continued income, personal meaning, and social impact. The grants go to community colleges that are piloting, marketing or expanding courses to retrain boomers for jobs in education, social services, health care and, new this year, 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,” says Marc Freedman, CEO and founder of Civic Ventures and author of Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life. “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 and that matters to the world.”
The 2008 Encore Career Survey by MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures found that half of those surveyed between the ages of 44 and 70 want an encore career. Working with youth, preserving the environment and teaching topped the list of boomer interests.
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 boomers interested in encore careers.
Grand Rapids Community College, established in 1914, offers both liberal arts and workforce development degrees, classes and workshops. Student enrollment on the urban campus for both credit and non-credit courses is approximately 28,000 this year.
Civic Ventures is a think tank on boomers work and social purpose. Learn more: www.encore.org
MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife to carry on its long-standing tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. The Foundation has been involved in a variety of aging-related initiatives addressing issues of caregiving, intergenerational activities, mental fitness, health and wellness programs and civic involvement. More information about the Foundation is available at www.metlife.org.
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