The recession may be waning, but job hunting is still hard work. This week, career counselor Terri Carpenter of Sacramento Works offers advice to jobless readers.
QUESTION: My husband lost his job as a shop foreman at a Ford dealership last November. He has been unable to find anything else since. His legacy is the fact that he can fix anything! Do you have any recommendations for career redirection or insight into what types of careers might be in the forefront in (coming) years?
ANSWER: Your husband might consider a "clean diesel" training program or one of the clean energy industry's training programs for specialty jobs, such as a mechanic for hybrid/alternative fuel vehicles.
The clean sector of automotive technology offers great opportunities. According to a recent study on energy-efficiency occupations in California, the five-year employment projection for automotive technicians is 8,624 new jobs through 2013 at an average wage of $20.03 per hour. Salaries are expected to be even higher for those with alternative fuels because those jobs will be in higher demand, according to the Northern California Centers of Excellence and California Community Colleges. For details on the jobs study, go to .
If your husband has been laid off, has been long-term unemployed or is a U.S. veteran, he could be eligible for free retraining in a new field or may qualify to take courses to upgrade his existing skills. These services are provided nationwide through the One Stop Career Center system. To locate training programs offered anywhere in the country, call 877-348-0502 or go to and type in your city and state to find a One Stop Career Center near you.
___
(c) 2009, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).
Visit The Sacramento Bee online at
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
