Job market challenges Americans – Vancouver Sun

Thousands of Americans aged 55 and older are going back to school and reinventing themselves to get an edge in a difficult job market, hoping to rebuild nest eggs that were almost destroyed by the recession.”I went into it thinking ‘I am not too sure I am cut out for call center work,’ and I never really wanted to sell insurance. But I was willing to try anything to gain full employment,” said Burklund, who has set aside hopes to retire at 65.Within two weeks of completing the program, he had three interviews and two job offers. In March, he started working at Marsh Insurance. A similar tale is recounted by Tom Halseth, about 380 miles east in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Halseth, 60, lost his job in May 2010 after 30 years as store manager with retail chain JC Penny. He spent 16 months unemployed.

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Job market challenges Americans – Vancouver Sun