Overlooked and Underserved More Help Is Needed for Older Americans Who Need to Work

More resources are needed to help older workers who need to enter, re-enter or remain in the workforce, according to experts who spoke during a recent briefing on Capitol Hill. Experience Works sponsored the briefing, which included presentations from Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience Works; Richard Johnson, senior fellow at the Urban Institute; Tony Sarmiento, president and executive director of Senior Service America, Inc.; Maria Heidkamp, senior research project manager at the Rutgers University Heldrich Center for Workforce Development; and Stephanie Cabral, regional director for Experience Works.

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) May 20, 2009 -- Dwindling retirement accounts and layoffs are forcing many older Americans to look for work. More resources are needed to help those older workers who need to enter, re-enter or remain in the workforce, according to experts who spoke during a briefing held on Capitol Hill on May 14.

The briefing was sponsored by nonprofit Experience Works, the nation's largest training and employment organization for older workers. Through the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), Experience Works provides unemployed, low-income people, age 55 and older, with the opportunity to serve their communities, increase their skills and prepare for employment.

Pressure on the SCSEP, the only federal program specifically for unemployed older workers, is intensifying

The SCSEP is currently funded to serve less than one percent of the eligible population. In this day and age, this is simply not enough to cover all the older workers nationwide who are desperate for work and can't get a job without intensive customized services.

We hope Congress will consider increasing the number of older worker positions available through the SCSEP

The economic, social and individual impact of the program has a multiplier effect with extremely high return on investments.

Offering supporting testimony during the briefing were Richard Johnson, senior fellow at the Urban Institute; Tony Sarmiento, president and executive director of Senior Service America, Inc.; Maria Heidkamp, senior research project manager at the Rutgers University Heldrich Center for Workforce Development; and Stephanie Cabral, regional director for Experience Works.

According to Johnson, high unemployment, stock market losses and falling housing prices have serious repercussions for older Americans. While many seniors need and want to work, they often lack the education and skills that employers require. Congress could improve the economic security of these individuals by increasing government-funded employment and training services, such as the SCSEP.

"We hope Congress will consider increasing the number of older worker positions available through the SCSEP," Metzler said. "The economic, social and individual impact of the program has a multiplier effect with extremely high return on investments."

For more information about Experience Works and the SCSEP, log on to www.experienceworks.org or call 703-522-7272.

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experience works cynthia metzler senior community service employment program older americans older workers capitol hill workforce unemployed low-income employment seniors

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