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SUSAN IDLE: "I only went through the 8th grade. I am 60 years old and I wanted to see if I could do it." Photography by Geoff Forester
More than a year ago, business and education leaders in the Lakes Region came together to address an issue that was becoming more common—the closing of local manufacturing facilities dueto a move overseas. These closings were leaving local workers—many who had spent decades working for these companies—without steady employment and without the education necessary to look for a new job. Many had never finished high school as that was not required for these manufacturing jobs.
As Pam Szacik, local office manager at New Hampshire Employment Security said, “These are people who had been there for 25 years … they were having a difficult time getting back into their field of employment.” Nearly all employers today require a high school diploma or GED, yet these displaced workers did not have a program to help them complete the study necessary to finish the GED process. In some cases, a burgeoning refugee population in the Lakes Region was also in need of the same set of skills.
The Adult Success Program, created with a $15,000 grant from the Lakes Region of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, is working to change this.
PAUL COCHRAN: "...a lot of jobs you apply
for need a high school diploma or GED, I
am interested in taking college courses in
auto mechanics." Photograph by Geoff Forester. |
Several sectors of the Lakes Region community came together to plan this project. In addition to Employment Security, other partners include the Laconia Area Chamber of Commerce, Laconia Adult Education, the Community Technical College and Southern New Hampshire University.
“The Lakes Region needs a strong and diverse work force, and the Adult Success Program is helping to make sure that happens. The business and educational leaders who came together to create this program saw this need and responded quickly. We’re pleased to support this work,” said Ellen Koenig, the Foundation’s senior program officer for the Lakes Region. |
Peggy Selig, the director of Laconia Adult Education, said that 16 people are currently enrolled in the program, working on math, reading, English as a Second Language and GED preparation three nights a week at Laconia High School. In total, the program hopes to enroll 60 students over the course of a year offering free night-time courses, more flexible hours and free transportation.
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