(NECN: Marnie MacLean, Augusta, Maine) - You can forgive Alan Walker for looking a bit lost. He's at a job fair in Augusta, Maine. The last place he ever expected to be.
Just four years away from retirement Alan finds himself in a room filled with people looking for work.
This job fair is sponsored by Women Unlimited, a group that helps mostly women find work in non-traditional fields...like construction.
In this economy, men are looking for help too.
Cammi Jo Johnson is a former health aide who made just eight dollars an hour. It didn't pay the bills, so she broke out of her comfort zone and started working with Women Unlimited to learn a whole new set of skills that command more money.
Cammi Jo Johnso: "welding, learning how to drive a dump truck....I parked a dump truck...I did
that"
Cammi Jo has had several interviews and has high hopes she will be offered a quality control job at a construction company.
Local
There are 25 companies and organizations here, many are hiring...jobs like line workers, cable technicians and welders. most offer on the job training.
Alan has spent 36 years in accounting, but is willing to learn something new. He's just not sure what that should be--or how long it will take to find work.
Alan Walker: "Kind of discouraged, not many jobs out there. I hope I can find something. I've
never been on unemployment in my whole life"
It is an uncomfortable place to be, and one he hopes he doesn't have to wait too long to leave.
