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.
That is when he began participating in the Walmart Brighter Futures Project. With two Associates degrees already, Adam didn’t think returning to school was the best option for him. However, as a result of his career exploration and labor market research, he discovered that employers who hire Diesel Mechanics prefer candidates who also have a Class A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) so that they can testdrive the trucks and equipment they are working on. For union positions, having a CDL is not just a preference, it is a requirement. Additionally, Adam learned that only 33% of all Diesel Technicians actually have a Class A CDL. With the support of funding from Walmart Brighter Futures, he worked with a local truck driving school to complete an accelerated program and passed his CDL test just a few weeks later. To maximize his employability, he also completed computer classes offered through WorkSource Lane in MS Word and MS Excel, and was one of the first in Lane County to receive his National Career Readiness Certificate, a credential demonstrating his basic skill competency.
All of his hard work has paid off, and Adam is currently employed by a family-operated trucking company that has been in business for generations. Adam says that being involved with the Walmart Brighter Futures Project helped keep him motivated. His advice to other participants is to "stick with it, use the resources at hand, and if you can’t find answers right away, keep asking questions."
