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Retraining U. Job Market BY LAURA DAILY PHOTOGRAPHS BY TERU ONISHI Smart community colleges earn an A for partnering with local businesses to recareer older workers
David Kieffer saw it coming, but still it stung. The 56-year-old from Eagle River,
Wisconsin, had worked for three years as a carpenter’s assistant, watching helplessly as
home construction dried up. By the end of 2009 he was jobless and unable to find steady
work. “I’d never had a problem finding a job before,” he says. “I must have sent out 50 résumés—and didn’t receive one reply.” For a year he took odd jobs through a temp service.
Then, in January, Kieffer learned that Nicolet College, in nearby Rhinelander, was
offering specialized job-training classes in cooperation with local employers. After being
assessed by a Nicolet career counselor, Kieffer enrolled in computer literacy, blueprint
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