Unemployed Test Work in New Job Fields

 　　More than 12 million Americans are out of work, according to the U.S. Department of Labor¹.

　　Looking for a job similar to the one that was lost can be a frustrating² and futile³ exercise, but an employment program in the northeastern state of New Hampshire gives the unemployed⁴ a chance to try out jobs they hadn’t considered before.

　　Carol Nyber lost her job at an electronics manufacturing company last year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a new experience; she's been laid off several times over the past 20 years.

　　“I keep jumping back and forth⁵. It’s a horrible thing to go through," she says. "You’re worried about your bills. Are you going to be able to pay your rent, or your mortgage if you own a house?”

　　While looking for a new job, Nyber came across the Return to Work initiative, a program run by New Hampshire’s Department of Employment Security.

　　“It allowed people to find a training opportunity with an employer,” says Keith Badger⁶, the program’s coordinator⁷. “They could train up to 24 hours a week with a particular employer for up to six weeks.”

　　Return to Work sets up a ‘win-win’ situation, according to Badger. Workers continue to receive unemployment benefits during the training period while prospective⁸ employers have a chance to evaluate potential employees - on the job - at no cost.

　　“The individual is not under any obligation to the employer. The employer is not under any obligation to the individual, outside of the actual training," he says. "So the employer doesn’t guarantee the individual a job at the end of the training period, and if the individual, in the middle of the training, decides that this is just not working for them, they can leave the training.”

　　Carol Nyber doesn’t plan to leave. In fact, she hoping for a job offer once she completes her training with Electropac, an electronics manufacturing company.

　　“I worked here about two-and-a-half years ago," she says. "It’s quite different. Last time, I was here as an inspector⁹. Now I’m operating a machine.”

　　Electropac is one of more than 400 businesses around the state that have joined the Return to Work program. The chance to evaluate job seekers during the training period helps the company identify the best people for the job.

　　“In addition to the various skills and ability to do the job, we also look for the person who takes responsibility for the job that they're performing," says Raymond Boissoneau, president of Electropac. "It’s more than just a repetitive type job. The type of product we make requires somebody who looks at doing a function and the ability to - if they see something wrong - stopping it and bringing it to their team leader. So it requires that little added concern and care of what you’re doing.”

　　Lisa Eaton, who was laid off from a manufacturing marketing¹⁰ job more than a year ago, was hired by a real estate company after completing the on-the-job training.

　　“I felt it was a smooth transition," she says."I never felt that it was an unpleasant challenge. It’s a positive challenge to learn new skills in a new industry.”

　　She credits the Return to Work program with allowing her to change careers.

　　“I was not satisfied in the role that I had with my prior employer," Eaton says. "I had been thinking about finding another job for a long time and I just never got around to it. You know how you kind of live with dissatisfaction. So it was a good, and probably needed, push to find something better suited to me and my personality and what I enjoy.”

　　Her boss, Giovanni Verani, president and co-owner of Prudential Verani Realty, wasn't concerned about hiring someone with no previous experience in his field.

　　“She had to get a real estate license¹¹, first of all. She did everything she needed to do to get a license," Verani says. "She was like a sponge when she first came in. She absorbed the industry. She came up to speed really quickly and I think the customers love her.”

　　New Hampshire’s Return to Work initiative was inspired by a similar program in the southern state of Georgia, which also provided the model for President Obama’s “Bridge to Work” proposal for helping¹² the long-term unemployed.

　　More than 500 people have been trained through New Hampshire’s Return to Work program over the past two years, and more than 350 of them now have permanent full-time¹³ jobs. As more employers join the initiative, program coordinator Keith Badger expects more unemployed workers to return to work.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

9 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

10 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

11 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。