Join the job clubs and learn new work skills

YAKIMA, Wash. —For more than six decades, Ron Saxton of Selah worked with horses throughout the Yakima Valley. He rode them, broke them, shoed them and sold them, earning a good living off what he loved best.

But everything changed a year ago when a horse Saxton was riding reared up and flipped backward, landing on top of him. Saxton broke six ribs, his collarbone and his kneecap. Doctors told him he should find a new line of work.

“I never had a résumé in my life,” Saxton, 75, said. “When I grew up, I was told what to do and I did it.”

When he began looking for jobs, Saxton was asked if he had computer skills or spoke Spanish. He didn’t. Frustrated, Saxton finally got his break through Tacoma Goodwill’s Yakima branch, which gave him the training and social networking he needed to start over again.

“They teach you what you need to get back out there in the job market,” said Saxton, who’s studying to become a personal trainer at the YMCA. “Now, I’m back 100 percent. I weigh the same as I did when I was 17 or 18, and I have a young man’s occupation. I’ve been blessed, I really have.”

Goodwill, which has a service area covering Yakima, Longview and nearly all of the Olympic Peninsula, offers numerous job-training opportunities at its work force center in Yakima. One is a two-year training program for low-income seniors, enabling them to re-enter the workforce.

The other is three newly formed job clubs, which gives people an outlet to vent their frustrations, socialize and learn new skills — such as how to write a résumé and how to dress for an interview.

Saxton is a part of both programs. With the first, he’s shuffled to several nonprofit organizations for six to eight months at a time, learning everything from answering phones and using the computer to plowing snow and felling trees.

He’s paid minimum wage of $8.55 an hour and works 20 hours a week. The program is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, and placements are made at 50 local host agencies. At a recent count, more than 20 seniors were participating in the Yakima-based program.

Now learning to be a personal trainer at the YMCA, Saxton said he’s found his calling.

“I get paid for working out,” he joked. “This is something I could do for the rest of my life. It’s all physical. It’s working with people, and I love that. It’s a lot like breaking horses.”

The job club, too, has been invaluable, Saxton said. He belongs to one focused on seniors, and when he hears of the struggles others face, he doesn’t feel so alone.

“At first, I thought it would be a little boring,” he said. “ But then I listened to their problems on eye sight, hearing and disabilities. It was good for me to know there are programs out there to help these kind of people.”

Goodwill has spent the past few months developing job clubs that serve specific communities. One is for convicted felons who’ve done their time and are looking for work. Another is for seniors and a third is for anyone else seeking work or a career change.

So far, all clubs meet once a month, and more clubs will likely form to meet people’s specialized needs, said Kelly Fox, Yakima’s vocational services manager.

“It’s going to expand,” she said. “We’re taking an older idea and revamping it into a more useful tool. They’ve gone great so far.”

Through the ex-offender club, a group of about 12 former inmates is learning about today’s job market. Trisha McCray, a support services coordinator who leads the group, recruited the club members through a Department of Corrections work-release program in Yakima.

She wants to keep the same individuals for six months and then teach skills to a new crew. So far, she’s learned many of the members have been incarcerated for five years or more and need help learning what language and clothing are appropriate for the workplace.

“A couple of guys say they’ve been everywhere and can’t find anything,” she said. “I tell them not to give up.”

Fox and McCray readily admit many employers won’t give the men a chance, which can be discouraging.

“They are limited. They face more struggles,” Fox said. “We want to support them and build their self-esteem. If they think no one will give them a chance, no one will.”

Grace Gomez of Yakima doubted her own marketability when All-Wood Components in Union Gap closed in 2008. For 35 years, she ran a rip saw at the warehouse. She had neither the skills nor the education to find other employment.

“Without an education, there are few options out there,” said Gomez, 55. “I felt stuck.”

Gomez changed her situation by enrolling in Goodwill’s training program for low-income seniors. She’s now working as a receptionist in the Yakima office, mastering how to use the phone and computer.

“Here, you have options,” Gomez said about Goodwill. “You know there’s a chance for you.”

Gomez is a part of the training and the job club, both of which are led by Employment Specialist Gail Goode. Goode said the programs work in conjunction with one another, and people need not be a part of the training to join the club — which so far has attracted about 20 regular members.

“It’s a social club, it’s fun,” she said. “They get to know each other and meet new people.”

Gomez, for one, appreciates what the group provides.

“It really helps people to talk about their skills, how to find training and where to go online to look for work,” she said. “Before, I was staying at home, depressed, gaining weight. Now I get out of the house and I don’t feel alone.”

Alan Fate of Wapato is also grateful for the extra support. For most of his life, the 54- year-old has worked in agriculture, managing and owning his own apple orchards. Now the married father of four wants to become a teacher.

Through Goodwill, he’s taking computer classes and has attended a job club meeting. In time, he hopes to learn about résumé writing and how to give a good interview — anything to help him get into the classroom.

“If I’m going to do the change, now is the time to do it,” said Fate, who’s applying for jobs as a teacher’s aide. “In my situation, I’ve never had to look for a job. I’ve never had to fill out a job application. ...(The club) is certainly a good thing.”

Knowing she’s helping people like Fate is why Kelly White likes her job. She heads the third job club and also teaches computer skills at the workforce center.

Some people come to her not knowing how to turn on a computer, let alone type or surf the Internet. But through the club, she’s teaching people these and other useful skills.

“I don’t want to turn anyone away,” she said. “If they’re helping themselves, we’ll work just as hard as they are.”

• Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 509-577-7684 or at esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com

• Goodwill job clubs

• For more information on the job clubs at Goodwill, 10 N. 10th Ave. in Yakima, call 509-452-6061.

• Questions on the ex-offender club should be addressed to Trisha McCray. Gail Goode is in charge of training for low-income seniors and the seniors club. Kelly White oversees the other job club and teaches computer classes.