By Marshall King, Truth Staff
When Frank Cataldo lost his job making flutes and piccolos, he found a way to move forward.
His job at Gemeinhardt was outsourced in May 2005. He didn't find much hope in the classifieds. He didn't want to go back to a recreational vehicle factory like the ones he'd worked in for 16 years.
Because of his layoff and the way his job ended, he had another option.
He researched the kind of job he wanted, went through three interviews and wrote an essay as part of an application for Trade Agreement Act federal funds to pay for retraining. He qualified for the funds covering his tuition, books and living expenses and started at Ivy Tech State College in January 2006.
His $333 stipend each week, before taxes, doesn't compare to the job that paid him an average of $16 an hour, but he's looking ahead.
He finished classes and a certification for recreational vehicle service technology and was approved for more study in business and marketing. Cataldo, 47, is hoping to find a job selling recreational vehicles.
His situation is common and becoming more so, said Jean Perrin, executive director of Workforce and Economic Development for Ivy Tech's north-central region.
If a manufacturing plant closes or moves to Mexico, WorkOne helps workers apply for funding and find retraining providers, including Ivy Tech.
"Our expertise and our history has been in the manufacturing arena," she said.
That's been the case for years. The school has tried to keep pace with changing technology. What's also changing is the focus on certification.
"It's so important for people to not just have training, but walk away with recognized credentials," she said. "It's not enough to say I can do this or I have this experience, but to show through some sort of independent assessment you've been measured in your proficiency."
Ivy Tech trains welders to take on new jobs. It trains RV service technicians. In Warsaw, the school has a training center for people wanting to work in the orthopedic industry there, she said.
The programs fluctuate, and so does the money helping people enter them, said Dan Hendricks, vice president of operations for WorkOne.
About 10,000 people a month seek employment services from WorkOne in the five northern Indiana counties it serves, including Elkhart. Some of those are unemployed. Others are employed but need some kind of employment service. Their options depend on their situation.
"It's harder when a person is coming in on their own and they do not qualify for federal or state money," Hendricks said. The amount and types of funding depend on Congress and the Indiana General Assembly, he said.
While Cataldo still worked at Gemeinhardt, he took a class at Indiana University South Bend. The mix of working full time and trying to take a three-hour college class was a struggle.
"I don't know how people can work a full-time job and take 12 hours," he said.
He has classmates balancing work and school to further themselves. He admires them. And he believes more people will need to seek retraining as he has.
"I see that trend only increasing," he said.
Hendricks said manufacturing is changing as technology advances and society becomes based on knowledge. That society and its economy doesn't just compete locally and regionally, but globally, and the need to constantly learn more will increase.
"Many people in manufacturing don't have to touch a computer," he said, adding that those jobs are diminishing and the need for retraining will grow even larger.