The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the percentage of adults over age 55 in the workforce will grow to 25 percent in 2020, up from 13 percent in 2000. Many in that segment, called baby boomers because they were born between 1946 and 1964, will have to update their skills and earn new degrees or certificates to be hired.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is on the forefront of offering training for baby boomers. The college was recently chosen to join the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program, a national effort to train 10,000 baby boomers for new jobs in health care, education and social service occupations.. The program, sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), offers the college grant funds to augment training programs and access to toolkits and extensive marketing resources tailored to reach baby boomers. Students may be eligible for federal student pell grants and loans or college and corporate scholarships.
Dr. Carmen Walters, vice president of the Jackson County Campus, is spearheading the project at MGCCC. Walters said the AACC wanted to implement the program in partnership with community colleges because they are ideally structured to help baby boomers chart their next steps in life. “Community colleges traditionally cater to the needs of nontraditional students,” she said. “They can offer plus-50 adults options and benefits, easy access, flexible schedules, long- and short-term programs and a wide range of opportunities.”
She said the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program aligns with the college’s mission, vision and strategic plan. “MGCCC provides superior instruction through traditional and technological formats, embracing lifelong learning, productive citizenship, service learning and leadership development in an innovative learning environment while fostering an entrepreneurial spirit. That’s exactly what this program is designed to do. The important thing is that it will lead to success for the individuals in the program while providing a valuable workforce with substantial work experience, knowledge and professional maturity coupled with community college credentials to local businesses and industry.”
Bobby Ghosal, assistant dean of Instruction at the Jackson County Campus and committee chair for the program at the college, added that the program is a good deal for Plus 50 individuals. “As the economy recovers, getting a degree or certificate can help increase your earning potential and make you more employable. The Plus 50 Encore Completion Program offers courses tailored to your needs, making it is easier than ever to finish what you started. Encore careers, or second careers, allow you to find personal fulfillment in high-demand fields that create social impact for the greater good.”
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is one of 36 new colleges recently selected for the project. An independent evaluation of AACC’s Plus 50 Initiative, which began in 2008, found that 89 percent of students agreed that college workforce training helped them acquire new job skills, and 72 percent attributed landing a job to such training.
For more information about the program, contact Bobby Ghosal at MGCCC’s Jackson County Campus, 228-497-7633 or bobby.ghosal@mgccc.edu.
I applied for this and was told you don’t have funds available for this semester (Fall 2013). Rather misleading to have this article say the program is available if it isn’t.
The article says that students may be eligible for funds through federal Pell grants and loans or institutional scholarships. The Plus 50 program does not pay this. It offers the college grant funds to use in marketing to this group of people. In the article it states:
The program, sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), offers the college grant funds to augment training programs and access to toolkits and extensive marketing resources tailored to reach baby boomers. Students may be eligible for federal student pell grants and loans or college and corporate scholarships.