Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1983)
People offered chance to ‘Take Charge’ By J. Dana Haynes Of The Print “We see this as the number one problem in Clackamas County,” Lee Fawcett, assistant dean of stu dent aid, said. The problem to which Fawcett referred is unemploy ment. Approximately 14,000 people are without work in this county, which is about 10 per cent of the populace. Next Saturday, April 16, Clackamas Community Col lege will attempt to do something to alleviate this pro blem. The College is hosting Take Charge Day, a series of events from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. that are aimed at pro viding options for the unemployed citizens of the metropolitan area. “We don’t want people to come here thinking they’re go* ing to get a job and solve all their problems,” Fawcett said. . “They won’t find that here, buf it will help.” There will be four main programs in the day’s activities. These programs, called tracks, include: —Focus on people who are unemployed for the first, time in years. These people have often had jobs for decades and suddenly find themselves unemployed. For this group, Take Charge Day will look at job hunting skills, such as resume writing, inter view skills, and how to present oneself to a prospective employer. —Focus on people who have never held a job. This track is one toward which the College normally works. Teaching job skills has always been a major role of the com munity college system, Fawcett said. —Focus on people who are thinking of becoming self- employed. There are many marketable skills which a per son may practice at home. To demonstrate the point, the Col lege has invited self-employed people to come and show, their skills in the Randall Hall gym during the lunch break. Guests will talk about such at-home work as babysitting, freelance writing, small-engine repair and house-sitting. —Focus on families which have gone frorri two income to one income. The main thrust of this track will be on budgeting techniques and teaching families to live on less. Such skills as how to repair your own appliances and how to live on a set budget will be discussed. Several different depart ments from around the College are participating in Take Charge Day. Fawcett is coor dinating these departments, which include the Career MARV THORNLEY IS looking for more than 100 Development and Job Place ment Center, which is in volunteers to help at Take Charge Day, April 16. The day charge of corralling the more is a series of events that is aimed to provide options for than 100 volunteers who will unemployed people in the Metropolitan area. be needed, Public Information Photo by Russ McMillen Office, which is in charge of advertising for the event, and Police Sciences department, whose students will help direct project we’ve worked on,” the College is expecting 500 to Fawcett said. 800 people to attend the day traffic. There will be 80 separate long event. He pointed out that People wishing to volun teer for any of the two hour workshops that day, as well as one need not be unemployed shifts can contact Placement •representatives from the to sign up for the workshops. Officer Marv Thornley at ext. various small businesses 1 in The idea for. Take Charge 213. Thornley pointed out that Clackamas County and 35 Day did not originate at the many volunteers will be need agencies, including CETA College, McMurdo explained. (Comprehensive Employment Several small colleges hàve ed to handle such tasks as registration, guiding registrants, and Training Act) and Adult had similar events, often called serving coffee and. lunch and and Family Services. Move Ahead Days. “We’re trying to find op generally assisting in the Fawcett and other repre tions to simply going out and sentatives from Clackamas workshops. 1 “I’ve seen more people looking for work,” Kevin Community College talked to pitching in and trying to help McMurdo, public relations of several school administrations with this thing than any other ficer said. McMurdo also said about their Move Ahead Days. Fawcett said one main problem found with those other pro grams was the lack of follow through. “For the next 10 years or so, there will be more people looking for work than there will be jobs,” Fawcett said. “So this is not just a one day thing. If people think of this as a one time effort, then they won’t ex pect it to help.” Providing work skills has always been of prime impor tance for community colleges, Fawcett feels. “The College tries to stay on top of job trends and tries to provide the kind of training that is needed,” he said. However, that is not always as easily done as said. As the .state cuts back funding, and the College’s ability to raise funds via property taxes is threatened by the recession, job skill programs are often in peril of losing their funding. “We’re better able to change with the times than other in stitutions,” Fawcett said. “For that reason, we’re used to be ing more responsive to the public.” Child care will be provided during Take Charge Day, and a free lunch will be served to participants and volunteers. In keeping with the fourth track, which focuses on budget keep ing, the lunch will be nutritious and inexpensive, McMurdo said. The food has been donated by local grocery stores. The Cabin Fever Moon shine Band will play during lunch. The band features Bob Misley, chairperson of educa tion and study skills, and plays bluegrass fiddling music. “We truly think that this will be a tremendous help to the county,” Fawcett said. Reede appointed to job center been any great demand for the service yet,” Reede said. The program will not The Oregon Employment show a success rate for at least Division recently placed a job another month.“l know how service representative in the many people I send out on in Job Placement Center at terviews; but not how many get Clackamas Community Col hired,” he said. lege. “The Program is designed Money for the program to help place students and Comes from state funds, so a residents from the surrounding fee is not charged for the ser areas in jobs,” Terry Reede, vice. When a person requests the newly-placed represen the service of Reede, he will in tative of the program said. terview the job candidate to “Job orders are called in to find out for what type of job the the Oregon City Employment office, and I get a new updated list of the jobs available in the area every day,” Reede said. By Jenni Weber Of The Print The Print & Rhapsody J A microfilm file of jobs is sent from the Portland employ ment office with possible jobs from all over the state, as well as parts of Washington., NEW OREGON EMPLOYMENT Division representative Terry Reede helps place. Photo by Duane Hiersche Wednesday April 13, 1983 “The government job placement program is not new to the educational system. It has been in service at both Mt. Hood and Chemeketa Com munity Colleges for three to five years. I’ve only been here (the College) about three weeks so there hasn’t really person will be best qualified. Reede checks his lists to find out if a job is open which they would be able to take. If so, Reede then calls the Oregon City office to see if the job is still open. If the job is, Reede will then call the possible employer to introduce the ap plicant and set up an interview. If there is not a job available for the applicant, the jobs list should be checked every day until employment is found, Reede said. | £ | | Applications for Print and Rhap- sody editors will be available April 20. Deadline is May 2. Please contact Dana Spielmann for infor mation at Tr. B or ext. 309. Page 5
