Sep 12, 2008 - 01:35 PM

By Crystal Crimi

DURHAM -- When Jeff Statham received his lay-off notice, it was cause for celebration.

Although there were still bills to pay, losing his job gave him reason to get out of the “money trap” auto industry and pursue something he could actually enjoy.

“I’m happy as anything about it; I really hated my job,” Mr. Statham said, sitting on the deck he built in his Bowmanville backyard. “It’s a money trap, you get in there and it’s crazy.”

He spent eight years working for Lear in Whitby, building seats for General Motors (GM), but was laid off in November. The money was good, but it was hard, repetitive work – work his father spent 37 years doing for GM.

“I always listened to him complain how much he hated it,” Mr. Statham said. “I always vowed I’d never end up there and I did.”

Now 38 with two kids, he has spent 13 years in the automotive industry.

This September he’s finally starting down the path toward a new career by going to college through the Province’s Second Career program.

The program helps workers laid off or unemployed with tuition, books, living expenses and retraining costs. It covers up to two years of college, plus a year for upgrading if necessary.  

Mr. Statham heard about the program on a Friday night and signed up for it Monday morning. He went down to the Canadian Auto Workers Action Centre and got started on the paperwork.

“It was a stack like that,” Mr. Statham said, holding his fingers apart about an inch. It included researching employers, careers and schools.

Candidates have to research three different training facilities as part of their paperwork.     

Second Career’s intent is to help laid off workers who can’t find viable work in their sector, such as manufacturing, find a new career, said Sue Hawkins, Durham College second career advisor.

“There’s a lot of info and a lot of research they have to do and I think they’re a little overwhelmed by that,” she said. “My role hopefully is to make it easy for them.”

She provides candidates with an information package on the college, including costs, start dates, services available, history, method of instruction, and labour market information.

Since June, the school has had about 80-to-90 people walk in with inquiries, more than 200 by e-mail, and 600 or 700 phone calls. Approvals for the program have been high so far, Ms. Hawkins said. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity for people within our community to retrain,” she said. She’s hopeful the program will be successful – previous government programs were only funded up to a year.

Retraining candidates have applied for a variety of programs so far, including water quality technology, court support services, mechanical engineering, and business programs. For the most part, they’re excited about retraining for something they always wondered about.

“I wanted to be a police officer for a long time,” Mr. Statham said.

He almost became one when he was 19. He applied to the Toronto police department and made it to his final interview when he received a speeding ticket in Guelph, which pushed him over the maximum allowed demerit points for an officer.

“I’ve hated the City of Guelph ever since,” Mr. Statham said.

Before that, at age 17, he tried his hand at Durham College’s Business Administration program, but skipped too much. He looks forward to the college atmosphere now that he’s older.

This time around, he’ll be taking law and security at Durham College.

He can’t wait to start and isn’t nervous about his age.

“It’s not like it was 20 years ago... I think there’s going to be a lot of older people there now,” he said. “I’m just worried about studying. Like I said, I have the attention span of a fly.

“The kids will help me study, we’ll all sit down and study together,” he said, and added his wife won’t let him play until he’s done his homework.

He recently took a psychology night course, which included tests and a mid-term. It helped him feel more comfortable about going back to school.

“My neighbour’s daughter’s 18 and going to Durham College, maybe we’ll carpool together,” he laughed. “We’re college students.”

Anyone who is thinking about going back to school should do their homework first and Employment Ontario is a good place to start, said Patrick O’Gorman, a Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities spokesman.

“I think a lot of times people just don’t try accessing Employment Ontario because they don’t know about it or know how it applies to them,” he said.

There are various programs available to support mature students, such as Grade 12 equivalency, assessments, and upgrades.

“We know a lot of people are going to be needing new careers,” Mr. O’Gorman said.

The Province is providing more funding for retraining, including through support for apprenticeships, than in the past, he said.

For people looking to start a new career, financial assistance could be available through the Ontario Student Assistance Program. He suggests contacting a representative there first.

“Look for what’s going to be a good fit for you and, like I said, Employment Ontario Centres can help you do that,” Mr. O’Gorman said. “If you’re a single mother they would take into consideration your child expenses as well.”

Also contact the post-secondary institution to find out what kind of student assistance they offer.