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Weekly UpdatesAt the age of 55, Juneau resident Evelyn Kirstine needed a new line of work. A complete knee replacement had left her unable to return to the position she had held for years, lead housekeeper at a hotel. Luckily for her, Alaska has a program designed to help people facing just such a situation.
Businesses who can use assistance in meeting payroll can get some free help if they are willing to hire older workers.
The Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training, or MASST program, assists low-income Alaskans who are 55 or older with on-the-job skills training, resume writing, and finding a job. In Kirstine's case, she learned the ins and outs of office work.
"I had no computer skills whatsoever, nothing to really do with multi-phone lines or copy machines, so I think I pretty much learned everything related to office procedures," she said. Kirstine learned all of this while earning minimum wage at Alaska's Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Eleven months after entering the program, Kirstine applied for and was hired into a permanent position as an administrative clerk with the department, where she has worked for more than a year.
When asked how she likes her new career, Kirstine said, "I love it. Office work was always something I had an interest in and wanted to do, but unfortunately, I never had money to go get the education for it. The area where I grew up at (Nebraska) didn't have that to even consider."
Kirstine is one of hundreds of mature Alaskans who have benefited from the MAS ST program since its inception in 1978. The program is the Alaska implementation of a federal program known as the Senior Community Service Employment Program, or SCSEP, and is administered by the Employment Security Division of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Eligible seniors work part-time for a public or nonprofit agency; their wages are paid by funds from the U.S. Department of Labor, while the agency provides on-the-job training.
"The SCSEP program is a work-subsidy program, through which we actually fund a person's OJT (on-the-job training)," said Employment Security Division director Dr. Thomas Nelson. "We subsidize the wages for a certain period of time with the idea that the employer will provide them with skills and the experience that they need to gain self-sufficient employment."
The MASST program can accommodate about 200 participants statewide at any given time. The amount of time spent in training varies depending on the individual's needs-it can be as short as a few months to as long as a year or more. Wages during the training period are limited to Alaska's minimum of $7.15 per hour, but the average starting wage for people entering unsubsidized employment after training is about $12 per hour, and often with some level of benefits.
Three grantee agencies implement the program in Alaska's larger cities: the Southeast Regional Resource Center in Juneau, Adult Learning Programs of Alaska in Fairbanks, and Nine Star Enterprises in Anchorage. These agencies assess an applicant's abilities and skills, find a training position that suits the person's interests or qualifications, and help find unsubsidized employment after training. The grantees also offer various levels of support for learning basic job skills in addition to the on-the-job training. In areas not served by one of the three grantees, MASST services are available through the 24 Job Centers throughout the state.
The need for a program like MASST is especially acute with an aging work force, said Nelson. At the same time that baby boomers approach traditional retirement age, fewer younger workers will be coming into the work force to replace them.
"There is a work force shortage, and we also have an aging work force, so we have lots of people retiring or at retirement age right now," Nelson said. "Every employer in our state is feeling the same crunch, so we're competing for the younger and medium-age workers, (while) the older workers provide another dimension of employee." Some older workers also want to work later in life, thanks in part to improved health and longer life expectancies.
MUTUAL BENEFITS
Because MASST pays participant wages, the public and nonprofit agencies involved in training benefit from the free labor.
"It really is an important aspect in the nonprofit community," said Leslie Wheeler, former MASST participant and current executive director of the Mid-Valley Senior Center in Houston. "We're barely surviving as it is and I really don't know how well we would do without the MASST program."
In turn for the free help, the agencies teach participants the skills they need to succeed in the work force. "The employer contributes quite a lot," Nelson said. "They have to spend time training the person, supervising the person. Oftentimes that's taken for granted."
One of the hurdles MASST works to overcome is the notion that older workers are a liability rather than an asset. "Age is often referred to as the "subtle bias" and older workers run into it at an alarming frequency," wrote Tom Howard, MASST program manager for ALPA, in a column for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. "We have all heard the (stereotypical arguments) against hiring an older worker such as older workers are absent more frequently, older workers are short-term employees, and older workers are less productive than younger workers. But in fact there is no substance to these cliches."
The reality of older workers, Howard wrote, is that, "They are very dependable and their work ethics won't tolerate unjustified absenteeism.... They have been around the block a few times and often their inputs add a competitive zing to an agency. Almost daily, I hear comments from organizations that support the MASST program and they tell me how much they love having a mature worker as an employee."
The retention rate of MASST trainees speaks to the quality of their work: about 40 percent are eventually hired by the agency that trains them.
WHO PARTICIPATES?
Participants vary widely in their circumstances, from displaced homemakers who have never been employed to people like Kirstine who need a change for physical reasons. Nelson said they even had a medical doctor participate after he retired early and decided to try a new career.
"A lot of people are transitioning from jobs like construction, food service or fisheries, and want or need to have a change in job at 55," said Rita Bowen, statewide MASST program coordinator.
Most participants have at least a high school diploma, although that is not necessary, and some have a college or graduate degree. About one-quarter are veterans or spouses of veterans.
The largest age bracket of the participants is from 55 to 59 years of age, but there is no upper limit. Mary Lupo of Fairbanks, 79, recently completed her training with the Fairbanks City Clerk, and was hired as the Moore Street Seniors Apartment Complex manager. Her duties include screening applications, collecting rent, hiring maintenance people to perform repairs, and financially re-certifying tenants.
BEYOND TECHNICAL SKILLS
In addition to concrete skills like computer use, the MASST program also can offer emotional support to older workers facing a big transition. Wheeler, 61, had a Master's degree in social work and had worked in the field for decades. But she had been out of the job market for a while and was uneasy about going back to work. Participating in the MASST program helped her regain the confidence she needed.
"It gave me a chance to redevelop my comfort level," Wheeler said. "It's pretty easy to convince yourself that nobody would hire you. I think that's what the MASST program does, it gives you an opportunity to see your own value."
Wheeler credits Noel Matteson, Older Worker Specialist at the Palmer Senior Citizens Center, with bringing her along. "He just worked with me and helped me overcome that. He has a way of getting people past their blocks, if you will, and getting them to their next step."
Five months after entering the MASST program, Wheeler was hired as executive director of the Mid-Valley Senior Center. In her new position, her participation with MASST has now come full circle, and she supervises MASST trainees at the senior center. "Knowing what it did for me, I am hopeful that we can offer some of that same support in learning and just that encouragement to the people that are here with us," she said.
MEASURING SUCCESS
Once a participant finds a new job, the program continues to make sure they are doing well. "We check on them after 30 days to make sure that they are still employed and check with them and their employer to ensure that they do not need any other skills to maintain their jobs," Bowen said. "We then continue to check on our participants' employment status for up to 210 days to ensure a positive placement."
The success rate of the program is good: better than three-quarters of those placed in unsubsidized employment remain there at least six months after placement.
For More Information
People interested in participating in the MASST program or agencies interested in hiring participants can visit http:// labor.state.ak.us/masst/home.htm for more information.
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