Success Stories
Cooking Up A New Career - John Cotton
John Cotton worked in the gaming industry in Las Vegas for 25 years. When the gaming market crashed, along with the housing market, John decided to move to Eugene to be with his grandchildren. John knew “it was time to retrain” which eventually brought him to the Brighter Futures program, but that was not John’s first stop on the road to employment. When he first came to WorkSource Lane, John wanted to get back to work as soon as possible, so he chose an accelerated program at Lane Community College that he thought would best fit his skill set.
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Skills for the 21st Century Workplace - Leanne Guthrie
Leanne Guthrie has been employed in office administration jobs most of her life; in her last position she had successfully moved up the ranks with a local construction company where she became the Office Manager. To her disappointment, she was laid off when the company downsized in April of 2009. Due to the struggling economy and her need to update her skills, particularly around computer technology, Leanne knew it was unlikely that she would find another position.
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And Now for Something Completely Different - David Erickson
If you had ever called the “Cable Guy,” it would have been David Erickson who sent someone to your house anytime between 8 and 4. Although it seems that all cable company employees have this leisurely work schedule, that was not the case for David who supervised all broadband cable installation in Eugene and neighboring cities. It was David who had the stressful and relentless task of managing teams of installation employees twenty-four hours a day.
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Shifting Professional Gears - Adam Henderson
Adam Henderson has always been good at looking ahead and being pro-active. He prepared for a career by earning an Associates degree from Lane Community College in RV Technology when the industry was experiencing exponential growth in Lane County. He worked on recreational vehicles as a Service Technician for many years. When the RV industry began to decline, Adam felt he needed an advantage to maintain his employability. He wanted to build on the skills he already had so he decided to go back to school. He worked full-time, and simultaneously took classes at LCC that helped him earn a second Associates degree in Diesel Technology. That significantly expanded his skill set and kept him employed for a few years longer. However, with the downturn in the overall economy, the demise of the RV industry was inevitable, and Adam found himself laid off with hundreds of other workers from his company.
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