If no buyer is found for the Intermet-Ironton Iron building, more than 600 workers will flood the marketplace next year, which might make it difficult for some to find another job, especially close by.

Thursday, December 23, 1999

If no buyer is found for the Intermet-Ironton Iron building, more than 600 workers will flood the marketplace next year, which might make it difficult for some to find another job, especially close by.

But local educational resource centers are available to help displaced workers improve their skills so they can stand a head above the rest, said Jim Crawford, Ohio University Southern Campus director for the Center of Development.

"We have two-year degree programs to help people reenter the workforce," Crawford said. "And at the Center of Development we also construct custom programs based on community and business needs."

Currently, no plans are in the works to develop a program geared toward Ironton Iron employees, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be, Crawford added.

"We’ve not been asked to construct specific programs, but we are interested in participating in any way we can," he said.

Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., will be expanding its machinist technology program next year, however, said Martin Spears, technical assistant at the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing.

"We have a current full-time program," Spears said. "And we’re in the process of expanding it to evening hours Jan. 10.

"We heard about the Ironton Iron story in the news and we thought as we were starting this new program it would provide a unique opportunity for dislocated workers to upgrade their current workforce skills and reenter the workforce with a little more of an advantage than someone else."

Not everyone will benefit from additional training, though. The first thing a dislocated worker should do is go to the Work Force Development Center in Ironton or OUSC and ask for an assessment, Crawford said.

"Going back to school could be good for some people," he said. "Some will profit and others will find similar jobs and careers right away. It can be advantageous to learn new skills and develop new career opportunities. There’s not one answer for 619 jobs, there are 619 answers. We need to approach each person individually and find out what their needs are."

Assessment testing is a necessary tool in this process, Crawford said.

"We can assess current skill levels, strengths and interests and find out what is right for you," he said. "There are a number of organizations that would be able to offer assessment projects. And they are useful as long as you’re open and honest in the interview. We would hope that people who have any interest in upgrading their skills would come here. We want to be very available and we would be there for people who want to be assessed."

Ironton Iron’s closing might be an opportunity in disguise, Crawford added.

"We’re in a period of constant change with the advent of the information age," he said. "Many experts say that we have to reinvent ourselves and reinvent our careers five or six times in a lifetime. The best thing to do is welcome that change as an opportunity. The better we accept constant change in our society, the better able we will be to cope with what happens."