Retool your skills, retrain for a new careerin a fat economy, these are the kinds of slogans you see on matchbook covers and bus-stop benches, and its advice thats widely ignored.


Why retrain when jobs are easy to come by?


With the economy slowing and layoffs on the rise, however, retraining could become a growth industry here.


There hasnt been a great deal of that (retraining) because up until now the economy has been so good, says Mary Averett, district director for business and industry training at Community Colleges of Spokane. Now, we are most definitely seeing a change.


Randy Barcus, Avista Corp.s chief economist, estimates that the Inland Northwest economy has lost about 2,500 jobs to layoffs in the last year, although its gained another 1,000 jobs for a net job loss of 1,500. He notes that 2,500 jobs is just about 1 percent of the regional work force.


Many the regions largest employers, however, are on the list of those cutting jobs, and in many cases, the jobs arent expected to come back soon, if at all.


This was not a layoffthese positions were terminated, Susan Ashe, Northwest public affairs manager at Kaiser Aluminum Corp. here, says of that companys elimination of 65 salaried positions late last month.


Telect Inc., of Spokane, has cut 560 jobs in the U.S., most of them locally, and Agilent Technologies Inc., also of Spokane, is in the process of cutting 125 in Washington state that, again, mostly will fall in the Spokane region. Hecla Mining Co., of Coeur dAlene, is placing its Lucky Friday mine near Mullan, Idaho, on standby, putting 145 miners there out of work.


Where will those people go?


For these companies, at least, employees first stops are likely to be career-change centers.


At these on- or off-site, company-supported centers, employees are offered classes that help them take the measure of their career and their future aspirations.


They learn how to write a new resume, hunt for jobs online, and interview effectively.


They also discover how to tap sources of funding for retraining, what kinds of programs are out there, and what jobs will be in demand in the future.


Its no secret that most laid-off employees would rather get an equivalent job than retrain for a new career. But for some people, retraining is the right answer.


When people are laid off from jobs and they have skills that are no longer viable in the work force, its really necessary to retrain them, particularly when theyre still within the age of needing and wanting to continue working, the community colleges Averett says.


More help available


Several factors could drive an expansion of community college and vocational training programs here, observers say.


First, theres a good deal more federal and state help for retraining than there was the last time the economy headed south.


Dislocated workers can draw unemployment benefits for a full year if theyre enrolled in an approved, full-time training program, says Bob Matzinger, systems coordinator in Spokane County for the states WorkSource program.


Without the extension, unemployment benefits expire at 30 weeks. Laid-off timber and aerospace workers can qualify for an even longer extension of their benefits, he says.


WorkSource itself is the states 3-year-old effort to offer a one-stop source for information on careers, jobs, and training programs, complete with counselors who can steer clients toward various financial-aid options.


Another reason retraining could gain momentum is because it allows laid-off workers to stay in the Inland Northwest instead of moving elsewhere in pursuit of jobsa powerful motivator for many.


Theres a real commitment to the area, says Kelly Jensen, of Drake Beam Morin, an outplacement consulting company that operates a career-transition center in Liberty Lake for Agilent employees whove lost their jobs. People are going to be much more willing to make a (career) change and even take less money to maintain their lifestyle.


Community colleges and vocational programs also have made changes to their courses to accommodate the needs of dislocated workers.


CCS used money allotted to it several years ago by the Legislature to develop shorter programs that can be completed in the time an average worker can draw unemployment benefits, Averett says.


For most displaced workers, Its very difficult for them to take on a two-year program. Part of the (allotted) money in the community college system went into the design of shorter programs to give people a choice, she says.


Those short-term programs are targeted at industries that need workers, she adds: call-center management, warehousing, product handling, machining, and information technology.


Although retraining can be a wrenching change for a mid-career worker, sometimes its the best option if the choice is between going back to school, moving, or taking a service job at a much-reduced salary, says Dennis Ashley, director of training for Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest and past president of the local chapter of the American Society of Training and Development.


And, the truth is, sometimes its not that wrenching of a change, says Jensen, of Agilents career-transition center, which opened last week.


Choosing a new career can be a healthy process for many, he says. Sometimes people take the opportunity to align their job with their interests and outlook, a connection that might have been missing before they were laid off.


Its hard to say how many people are pursuing retraining in the Inland Northwest.


John Sporleder, director of human resources at Telect, says the companys career center might have identified a couple people who said, Man, Im going back to school, but theres no way of knowing who actually does so.


Even the states WorkSource office here doesnt know how many people from this region ultimately are approved for extended unemployment benefits under the dislocated worker program, because agency officials in Vancouver, Wash., make those approvals, Matzinger says.


However, I would say its pretty steady, and, in the last quarter weve been quite busy, he says.


Another hint: Enrollment systemwide at CCS is up 33 percent compared with this time last year, says Joanne Murcar, who manages work-force development activities for both the community-college system here as well as the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce.


Its a safe bet that at least some of those students are retraining, since the schools most popular courses coincide with industries that have the greatest demand for workers, such as health care, she says.


Choosing the right field to retrain in can be tricky, sources say. Just a few years ago, The notion of pursuing information technology training was the answer to all needs, says Robert Ketchum, executive director of North Idaho Colleges Workforce Training Center, in Post Falls. Now, theres been a decline in information technology (IT) jobs due to a softening in the high-tech sector; consequently, Were seeing quite a decline in interest in IT training as people realize its no guarantee of employment, he says.


The state wont offer extended unemployment benefits for training programs unless they jibe with its list of occupations for which there is demand in a particular market, says Matzinger, of the WorkSource office here.


Says Barcus, the Avista economist, Its important for students to be paying attention and asking the right questions when they enroll in a program so they dont graduate in a field that is oversupplied.


Even so, Barcus expects that retraining will continue to expand here and nationwide.


Theres a lot of transition in the economy, he says. I see people for a couple of years each decade, either without jobs or with jobs, looking to pick up new skills or refine the ones theyve got. The push toward training and retraining that we see a lot aboutthat will continue to grow.