Older workers, once scorned by employers, are being solicited for jobs that require database operation, word processing, and software input. But older workers have some options. For example, SeniorNet, a nonprofit organization with 126 learning centers, annually trains 23,000 workers who are over 50. The principal aim of SeniorNet is to prepare such workers for second careers or to upgrade them in their current jobs, said the president, Ann Wrixon. Many have never used a computer.
Courses range from basic skills to the computer skills in highest demand.
A few of the students are engineers, according to Wrixon. As difficult as it is to believe, there are a handful of engineers who have spent the last decade of their careers completely out of the PC loop. More common, engineers coming to SeniorNet have been engaged in non-marketable software tasks. For instance, they may be wizards in an obscure defense-related program but clueless about spreadsheets and databases. SeniorNet won't get those engineers another engineering job, but could well lead them into related fields, such as training.