The print., March 09, 1983, Page 4, Image 4

Out-of-uuork seniors receive employment help
By Doug Vaughan
Of The Print
Local
citizens and
businessmen are urged by
Senior Job Center Director
Jean Sullivan to call in all job
openings in her quest to get
citizens over 50 years of age
employment.
The program is three years
old and is located in the Or­
chard Center at Clackamas
Community College. Sullivan
is the head of the program that
was started three years ago by
Susan Hill through the Retired
Senior Volunteer Program.
“Everyone who is 50 or
older and is a resident in
Clackamas County is eligible,”
Sullivan said. “We deal with
two types of people. There are
retired people who are bored
and looking for something to
do, and there are people who
have been laid off because their
company went broke for one
reason or another.”
SENIOR JOB DIRECTOR, Jean Sullivan,
discusses with George Duncan about
possible job opportunities,
EVERYONE
IS PICKING UP
ON PILOT PENS
WATCH OUT FOR
THE STUDY HALL SNATCHERS
They know that the 89c
extra fine Pilot Razor
Point marker pen writes
as smooth as silk. And ,
the custom-fit metal
collar helps keep that ,
point extra fine page
after page. That's why
when it comes to a
Razor Point, it's love('
at first write.
V.
I Oil
Page 4
PILOT
The Center has been a
success, Sullivan felt , and the
recent publicity they have
received from two local televi­
sion stations and a newspaper
have increased their business
drastically.
“It (the publicity) has
brought on business like you
would not believe,” the director
said. “We have had over 200
new applicants, but do not
have that many jobs called in.”
Sullivan felt that it is very
Photo by Duane Hiersche
hard to get full time jobs for
their registrants. They often
have to settle for temporary or
part-time jobs.
“A lot of the jobs we get
are from homeowners who
need construction-type work
done--electricity, plumbing,
painting,” Sullivan said. “We
can usually keep the craftsmen
pretty busy.”
For women, Sullivan said,
the majority of the jobs that are
called in to the Center are
homemaking type work. Most
of these deal with cleaning or
care of a child or an elder, She
also added that they get some
clerical jobs, but not as many as
she would like.
“We get some business
and clerical jobs, and are hop­
ing that we can get more,”
Sullivan said. “The trend is
toward more of that kind of
job.”
The response to the pro­
gram has been growing each
month Sullivan felt. She said
that most of the awareness of
the Center has come from
word of mouth.
“I think people call here
because we have outstanding
workers,” she said. “We have
people who have exceptionally
good backgounds.”
The only initial qualifica­
tion necessary to be a registrant
is that the person be 50 years
or older and a resident of
Clackamas County.
“They usually call and we
give a brief screening over the
phone to make sure they meet
all the qualifications,” Sullivan
said. “We send them a registra­
tion form, which they are to fill
out and send back.
“We then set up an inter­
view and try to match them up
with a job as best we can,”
Sullivan said. “We screen them
very closely.”
Sullivan tries to be very
“up front” with the registrants
on their job opportunities.
“We try to talk to them in­
to doing some of the jobs that
are available,” the program
director said. “If they only want
to do a certain type of job then
they will have to wait until that
kind of job comes along.”
The program has been
successful in both the
registrant’s point of view and
the employer’s. Last month
Sullivan said around 500 jobs
were called in and filled.
“I feel there is a great need
for this. If times get tougher, I
feel it will be even more
beneficial,” Sullivan said.
“Social Security, with today’s
prices, is not enough to support
an older couple. If the
economy picks up we are hop­
ing that people over 50 can
keep their jobs.”
The Center is growing by
the day, and Sullivan is looking
for new ways in which the
Center can broaden.
“We are working on a pro­
gram that would help meet the
psychological needs of these
same people,” Sullivan said. “I
am working with another per­
son on this, and hopefully we
can do some things to make
these people feel good about
themselves when they go back
into the job market.”
Another addition the
Center is looking into is a len­
ding library of tools for
registrants. A person could bor­
row certain tools to perform
jobs.
Skills contest deemed success
By Dianna Hardy
Of The Print
The Student Skills Contest
that took place last Thursday,
March 4, drew an estimated
1500 students from Clackamas
County, and other surrounding
areas such as Tillamook and
Clatsop counties. The competi­
tion was sponsored by the
FBLA (Future Business
Leaders of America) and
Educational Services. The
events ranged from auto
mechanics, computers, and
mathematics to journalism, job
hunting skills and business.
Clackamas Community
College, in cooperation with
the Educations Services District
had several classes canceled for
the day to allow room for the
contest to take place. Students
from various schools attending
the compeititon, including
Molalla, Canby, Estacada, and
Rex Putnam, to name a few.
Students competed for in­
dividual and team trophies.
“Most of the students were
seniors,” Bob Wynia, Assistant"
to Dean of Instructional Ser­
vices, said. “Most were
sophomores, with a small
sprinkling of freshmen.
The contest was deemed a
success by the large number of
people who attended this year.
Team trophies were presented
as was a one-term scholarship
to the College. Among other
prizes was merchandise from
the drafting department
donated to the contest by
members from that depart­
ment.
ONE OF MANY STUDENTS who participated in
Clackamas Community Colleges skills competition held
last Thursday.
Photo by Troy Maben
Clackamas Community College