As a result of the recent economic recession, a group of students has entered Sinclair Community College who may have thought they were either finished with school or never thought they would attend college in the first place.
The Office of Displaced Workers, located in Building 10 Room 312, is a place where displaced workers can find counseling and potential funding as they pursue their education with the goal of transitioning back into the workforce.
“Our office defines a displaced worker as an individual who has lost their job due to no fault of their own. We serve individuals currently unemployed or under employed due to a reduction in workforce, job relocation or workplace closure,” said Chad Bridgman, counselor for displaced workers.
There are roughly 2,100 self-identified displaced workers enrolled at Sinclair this fall, according to Bridgman, who has been working with displaced workers at Sinclair since the spring of 2010.
The Office of Displaced Workers began as part of a project funded by the Wal-Mart Brighter Futures Project Grant (WBFP) in 2009. The stated goal of the WBFP was to help displaced workers acquire 21st century job skills and obtain jobs that require those skills as well as to increase academic progression, retention and completion rates for displaced workers, according to Bridgman.
The grant allowed Sinclair to hire two displaced worker counselors.
“Through that project, we were able to see what worked, and how you serve a displaced worker,” Bridgman said. “We were able to learn a lot about our displaced worker population attending Sinclair. In learning more, it became evident that additional help was going to be needed to explore workforce opportunities and ultimately how to connect to those opportunities.”
Students, who think that they might qualify as a displaced worker, should contact Bridgman at (937) 512-3592. There are no specific deadlines. The process is relatively informal, but the first step is the initial meeting with a counselor.
“If [students] are short on funding, the sooner the better to come in to have a one-on-one meeting,” Bridgman said.
There are different funding streams available, one of which is a scholarship set up by the Sinclair Board of Trustees.
“We offer the displaced workers scholarships through the Board of Trustees here at Sinclair. It is an $800 scholarship if the displaced worker goes full time,” Bridgman said.
Since Fall 2009, 1,400 students have utilized the services of Sinclair’s displaced workers counselors.
The Office of Displaced Workers creates a central location for displaced workers to address their unique educational challenges.
“It allows a displaced worker to have a home or a place where they can feel connected to resources that matter to them and make sense to them,” Bridgman said.