CareerCenter helps people become students again
FARMINGTON – Janice White of Phillips is 53; Corey Richards of New Vineyard is 19. They may be years apart in age, but they have something in common: They both found support and job training when they needed it.
Both praise the help they received in exploring and learning a new career path and the teamwork of several local and state agencies.
It all came back
White worked at H.G. Winter and Sons in Kingfield for more than 20 years – with some time off to raise children – until she lost her job when the plant closed late last year.
At the time, she didn’t know what she was going to do.
She hooked up with the CareerCenter in Wilton after the company’s workers learned they could be eligible for Trade Act provisions, which included training and unemployment benefits, because the company went out of business due to foreign competition.
She decided to take a 35-week clerical skills certification course with six components. With the help of Ray Therrien, director of the Franklin County Adult Education Program in Farmington, and CareerCenter advisers, she’s in the last stages of the course, which ends July 10.
“It’s been a life-changing experience,” White said. “It wasn’t a struggle, it was fairly easy once I got into it.”
Once she started taking keyboarding and bookkeeping, it all came back. She had taken those classes in high school, she said.
No interest in school
Richards struggled between his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He was dealing with a lot, including his father’s death. He didn’t give up, though at one point he doubted he would continue with school.
High school didn’t interest him, he said, until he was eligible his senior year to take part in the logging and wood harvesting program at Foster Regional Applied Technology Center in Farmington.
With mother Cindy’s encouragement and the support of Therrien, Reva Merrill of Foster Tech and Lloyd Holman with Western Maine Community Action, Richards took his last test to earn his general equivalency diploma Friday.
Besides his regular classroom load as a senior, Richards took courses through adult education and a correspondence class.
Once he got back on track, Richards set his sights on becoming a pipe welder.
“I reached my goal,” Richards said. “I go up to (Washington County Technical College) in July. You can’t do much without a college education these days. Even a high school diploma doesn’t cut it anymore.”
Teamwork
Richards and White credit their success to the support they’ve received from groups in the region that have joined in partnership.
Partners of the CareerCenter in Wilton, which include the Bureau of Employment Services and Western Maine Community Action, provide programs through the Workforce Development Investment Act board.
The CareerCenter collaborates with Franklin SAD 9 Adult Education Program, Foster technical school and other educational facilities throughout Franklin County.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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