With subsidized temporary jobs, program helps low-income people gain the experience they need to find permanent employment

By David Holley / The Bulletin

Published: February 12. 2010 4:00AM PST

Carol Clark was unemployed for more than a year before Experience Works helped her find a temporary position at the Redmond office of the state Department of Human Services in July. She was hired for a permanent part-time position in January. Experience Works provides temporary employment to low-income people who are 55 or older, as well as training and job placement. The program’s Redmond office has helped 11 people find permanent jobs since July.
Ryan Brennecke The Bulletin

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Anyone interested in Experience Works should contact Diane Cable at 541-548-8196, ext. 337. Experience Works is hosting a recruitment day Feb. 24 at Bend’s Community Center, 1036 N.E. Fifth St., Redmond, WA from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For a year, Carol Clark searched for a job to no avail.

Then, in July 2009, Clark started at Experience Works in a program that helps low-income people 55 and older with job training by placing them in temporary, 18-hour-a-week, federally funded jobs at various nonprofit organizations and government agencies.

Clark, 61, worked in a temporary position at the Redmond office of the state Department of Human Services for about six months and then was hired in January as a permanent, part-time employee.

“I feel blessed,” Clark said. “I suggest (Experience Works) for anybody that’s my age wandering around wondering what to do.”

Through the Experience Works Senior Community Service Employment program, these temporary positions help people get a foot in the door and provide them training that could lead to them landing a job, said Diane Cable, the employment and training coordinator with Experience Works’ location in Redmond.

Work experience and training that participants receive varies depending on interest, and includes everything from clerical work to sorting clothing.

“The whole purpose of the program is to get them unsubsidized employment,” Cable said, adding that Experience Works also provides training for job interviews and other work-related issues.

About 45 to 50 people participate in Experience Works out of Cable’s office, which is based in Redmond but covers eight Oregon counties. Most of those people are from Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties, she said.

Nearly 45 nonprofit groups and government agencies temporarily employ Cable’s participants, with federal money from the U.S. Department of Labor paying for the workers’ part-time, minimum wage paychecks. Cable said the program is close to capacity, but she soon should be able to accept new applicants when additional federal money is dedicated to the program.

Cable said her department has helped 11 people find permanent jobs since July. Although it’s not as many as she would like, she said she is happy to help people find employment, especially in this economy, where area unemployment ranges from 14 to 16.8 percent, all higher than state and national averages.

“With the economy the way it is, if I get one hired anywhere, I’m ecstatic,” Cable said.

With Clark’s job, Cable actually helped two people find work. Clark and another former Experience Works participant, Lyndll Little, are sharing one full-time Department of Human Services job as two part-time positions.

Clark’s boss, Bruce Barnes, said he was glad to hire her because of her willingness to work, her customer service skills and because she’s a quick learner.

“I think it’s a great program,” said Barnes, the operations manager at the DHS self-sufficiency program in Redmond. “It gives them an opportunity to see if it’s the work they want to do.”

Clark has plenty of previous work experience, having spent 17 years at Intel in Hillsboro and 17 years before that working for a bank. After she moved to Central Oregon in 2002, she worked various jobs, including one at a grocery store, which she left in 2008.

Then she spent the next year living off her Social Security check, looking for work.

Cable said many elderly individuals may once have had a strong skill set, but now cannot perform some duties. Experience Works helps people learn new skills, she said, adding that many people don’t have the confidence to do so on their own.

“With a lot of our people, it’s been self-confidence,” Cable said.

David Holley can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at dholley@bendbulletin.com.