Parkland College, like most community colleges, was founded to respond to the employment needs of the community.

In recent years, with the glut of jobs on the Saskatchewan market, the Ministry of the Economy started encouraging greater labour force participation of unemployed workers 55 and over with its Targeted Initiative for Older Workers. Parkland responded with its Mature Workers Program.

Gail Gorchinski runs the program for the college. She said there has been a lot of interest from people who have been displaced, retired early, or are just interested in a change from what they did for their careers.

The program, which started Monday and runs Monday to Thursday until May 3, offers a variety of help for the older worker, from updating resumes to technology training even to just how to look for a job, all of which might be very different from the last time these people were looking for work.

Gorchinski said the industries welcoming older workers are wide ranging from manufacturing to retail to office work.

“There’s a good variety of things out there,” she said.

And, she said, employers love the mature workers.

“They come from a generation that has a great work ethic,” she said. “They’re dedicated and reliable. The jobs are out there that need filling so why not encourage those workers to get out there and fill them.”