Walmart Foundation helps seniors land jobs

At 56, Linda Carr is still part of the southwest Missouri work force, but she's using a not-for-profit program to access job training after a bicycle accident left her with broken bones and little hope of finding a job she could handle.

Accustomed to working 14- and 15-hour days in a physically demanding jobs - most recently catering for John Q. Hammons Hotels - Carr knew she'd have to try something different. That led her to Experience Works, through which she now performs data entry at The Kitchen Inc.

Experience Works, a national not-for-profit program that operates in 30 states and Puerto Rico, uses funds from the U.S. Department of Labor's Senior Community Service Employment Program to provide on-the-job training for unemployed and low-income people above the age of 55. A recently announced $1.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation will enable the organization to help more workers like Carr who need help getting jobs.

Six U.S. territories including the Springfield-Branson area are receiving $250,000 to establish the Putting Experience to Work Program, which is separate from traditional Experience Works job training. The new program helps people between the ages of 50 and 62 and focuses more on classroom-style training. Elsewhere in Missouri, the greater Columbia and Jefferson City areas comprise another of the six territories.

Experience Works partners with local nonprofits and public organizations to provide free labor for the host agencies as well as a source of income and hands-on training aimed at making participants more competitive in the job market. Experience Works participants are paid minimum wage for around 20 hours of work a week through the DOL's Senior Community Service Program funds.

Those who enroll in Putting Experience to Work don't have to work at Wal-Mart or plan to work there in the future, said Susan Jackson-Falls, community liaison for Experience Works. Participants can choose their own career fields.

The grant is well-timed, as Jackson-Falls said the organization hopes to boost the number of people served in Missouri by 10 percent to 1,100 as a result of the funds.

And she said there are plenty of people who could use job training through Experience Works programs for several reasons.

"There are many older workers who are working, perhaps in a factory job, but their health is not what it used to be and they physically can't do that job. Or maybe they're in the health field and can't stand the physical demands of that job," she said. "And then you have people who perhaps haven't worked in many years."

Job-market prospects

There may be more opportunities for job seekers of all ages, according to Bill Dowling, director of work-force development for the Missouri Career Center. Dowling said the Career Center had 550 job openings listed in late July - the most it has had in nine months.

He said many older workers have been affected by layoffs, particularly in manufacturing. Some had worked at a single company for their entire careers.

"For those folks who have been laid off after a long-term job, like 30-plus years, that group is very hard to re-employ," he said. "The employer's view is that they'd only stay there for a few years before they retire. I think they suffer prejudice unduly."

Jackson-Falls said the best-case outcome for Experience Works participants would be that the host employer offer full-time employment. If that's not possible, she said the next best scenario would be that the training become a stepping stone toward other full-time employment.

As for Carr, she's using the stepping-stone option.

Although she really enjoys her position at The Kitchen, she already has gone back to school for an associate's degree in pre-law and will take criminal justice classes to reach her ultimate goal of helping abused children.

"I just feel like I need to be in that field to be able to help somebody," she said. (Experience Works) is a very rewarding program for older adults, and I'm happy I've joined that. It's helped me, and I'm looking forward to giving back."