Madison College’s Center for Adult Learning
Many Dislocated Workers
Many Dislocated Workers
market and successfully compete. And some want to improve on the job they left behind.
“Today a dislocated worker, one of the first things they need to do is get informed,” Studesville emphasized. “What is out there?
What do I need to know and how can I achieve my next goal? A lot of people are saying that they really didn’t like the job they were in
and they are ready for a career change. Well that means you are going to have to take some steps and change some behaviors. They
haven’t been in school for 15-25 years. What are their study, note taking and test taking skills like? If you are the typical person who
has been in a company for years, you haven’t had to do that. Coming back into school is scary. And you need a real good plan. Planning
is everything because here at our college, you might be ready to come back to school and you want to be a nurse. We have waiting
lists for our nursing programs. We have waiting lists for some of our other programs, whether they are in diesel or auto mechanics or
animal vet tech. You’re going to have to sit down and make a plan.”
CAL is a gateway to the Madison College system. Either workers can come in and get a quick and free tune-up of their skills or
enroll in the regular Madison College curriculum. CAL has a lot to offer.
“We have a session every Monday, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., a dislocated worker orientation group,” Studesville said. “I go through a lot of
information in those sessions. It happens in our Center for Adult Learning every week. I also have a Job Club every Tuesday. We talk
about what are the new job listings, how do you find them, what the resources available are and what are the challenges in looking for
a job in today’s market. Job Club is a support group and it is also a place where you can — by going to different workshops — earn a
credit for college toward your degree.”
Studesville also holds workshops on a variety of issues such as procrastination, time management, stress management, AODA
issues and health and wellness as well as topics like being a successful student, getting started the right way and job market trends.
According to Studesville, it’s a different labor market out there now. Many of us will be working until we are 80 years old. And so at
some point, people will have to retrain to meet their health and age circumstances. People can retrain to be employed in the recreation
and tourism industries, possibly finding employment opportunities that fit their snowbird lifestyle.
Most importantly, Studesville urges people to plan ahead. “My wish is that if you are unemployed, you need to feel a sense of
urgency to get going,” Studesville said. “Please do not wait until you are almost running out of your unemployment compensation to say
you need training and find your next job. It’s going to take time to do that. If you are someone who is unemployed, get going with a plan
quickly. Come in and talk to us. If you need help, ask for help. There are a lot of people who can help you through the Job Centers, the
counselors, the advisors here at the college.”
The Center for Adult Learning stands ready to help workers be life-long learners.
For more information, call 245-5848 or visit www.matcmadison.edu/center-adult-learning.
“Today a dislocated worker, one of the first things they need to do is get informed,” Studesville emphasized. “What is out there?
What do I need to know and how can I achieve my next goal? A lot of people are saying that they really didn’t like the job they were in
and they are ready for a career change. Well that means you are going to have to take some steps and change some behaviors. They
haven’t been in school for 15-25 years. What are their study, note taking and test taking skills like? If you are the typical person who
has been in a company for years, you haven’t had to do that. Coming back into school is scary. And you need a real good plan. Planning
is everything because here at our college, you might be ready to come back to school and you want to be a nurse. We have waiting
lists for our nursing programs. We have waiting lists for some of our other programs, whether they are in diesel or auto mechanics or
animal vet tech. You’re going to have to sit down and make a plan.”
CAL is a gateway to the Madison College system. Either workers can come in and get a quick and free tune-up of their skills or
enroll in the regular Madison College curriculum. CAL has a lot to offer.
“We have a session every Monday, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., a dislocated worker orientation group,” Studesville said. “I go through a lot of
information in those sessions. It happens in our Center for Adult Learning every week. I also have a Job Club every Tuesday. We talk
about what are the new job listings, how do you find them, what the resources available are and what are the challenges in looking for
a job in today’s market. Job Club is a support group and it is also a place where you can — by going to different workshops — earn a
credit for college toward your degree.”
Studesville also holds workshops on a variety of issues such as procrastination, time management, stress management, AODA
issues and health and wellness as well as topics like being a successful student, getting started the right way and job market trends.
According to Studesville, it’s a different labor market out there now. Many of us will be working until we are 80 years old. And so at
some point, people will have to retrain to meet their health and age circumstances. People can retrain to be employed in the recreation
and tourism industries, possibly finding employment opportunities that fit their snowbird lifestyle.
Most importantly, Studesville urges people to plan ahead. “My wish is that if you are unemployed, you need to feel a sense of
urgency to get going,” Studesville said. “Please do not wait until you are almost running out of your unemployment compensation to say
you need training and find your next job. It’s going to take time to do that. If you are someone who is unemployed, get going with a plan
quickly. Come in and talk to us. If you need help, ask for help. There are a lot of people who can help you through the Job Centers, the
counselors, the advisors here at the college.”
The Center for Adult Learning stands ready to help workers be life-long learners.
For more information, call 245-5848 or visit www.matcmadison.edu/center-adult-learning.
By Jonathan Gramling
When Al Studesville was laid off as Wisconsin Power & Light’s — now Alliant
Energy — manager of marketing and sales back in 1994 during a major downsizing, he
had everything going for him. “I had worked my way up through several other jobs,
everything from technical training coordinator of generating stations to special projects
manager for gas conversions,” Studesville said. “I worked with the trades on energy
conservation promotion programs.” He held a Master’s degree.
Yet he found he was ill-prepared for what he really wanted to do, provide counseling
at what is now known as Madison College. He had to take 12-15 credits at Madison
College before he could get a job as a counselor in the adult learning division.
Now 16 years later, Studesville is still working with adult learners at the new Center for
Adult Learning (CAL) at Madison College’s Commercial Avenue building. The CAL was
recently built with a grant from the South Central Wisconsin Workforce Development
Board.
The CAL is a state-of-the-art facility designed to help adult learners — including
dislocated, underemployed and unemployed workers — take an inventory of their skills
and upgrade them so they can again compete in the labor market. It has a computer lab,
classroom with projector capabilities and distance learning capability.
According to Studesville, few workers are ready to go directly back into the labor
When Al Studesville was laid off as Wisconsin Power & Light’s — now Alliant
Energy — manager of marketing and sales back in 1994 during a major downsizing, he
had everything going for him. “I had worked my way up through several other jobs,
everything from technical training coordinator of generating stations to special projects
manager for gas conversions,” Studesville said. “I worked with the trades on energy
conservation promotion programs.” He held a Master’s degree.
Yet he found he was ill-prepared for what he really wanted to do, provide counseling
at what is now known as Madison College. He had to take 12-15 credits at Madison
College before he could get a job as a counselor in the adult learning division.
Now 16 years later, Studesville is still working with adult learners at the new Center for
Adult Learning (CAL) at Madison College’s Commercial Avenue building. The CAL was
recently built with a grant from the South Central Wisconsin Workforce Development
Board.
The CAL is a state-of-the-art facility designed to help adult learners — including
dislocated, underemployed and unemployed workers — take an inventory of their skills
and upgrade them so they can again compete in the labor market. It has a computer lab,
classroom with projector capabilities and distance learning capability.
According to Studesville, few workers are ready to go directly back into the labor
Al Studesville is a counselor at Madison
College’s Center for Adult Learning on
Commercial Avenue
College’s Center for Adult Learning on
Commercial Avenue
