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Area jobless put to test for new careers
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PLEASANTVILLE - Brenda Trinidad thought she lived through the nightmare of high school algebra. But when she lost her job this year after 15 years as a hostess at a casino in Atlantic City, equations, square roots and polynomials reared their ugly heads again.
On a recent afternoon, Trinidad sat inside the Atlantic-Cape May One Stop Career Center with a small group of Workforce Learning Link students who were studying for the Test of Adult Basic Education, or TABE. The group members said they were attending the afternoon session because there is usually a waiting list for the morning session.
"We're studying now so we can score better and place higher," Trinidad said. "Every day I hope my brain will wake up."
All of the students are unemployed and hoping to pass the test in order to receive a grant to pay for one year of schooling in their desired field. The students are trying to qualify for one of the state's training grants for unemployed or underemployed workers, part of the state Department of Labor's work force development programs. The training grants, which can provide as much as $4,000, allow them to return to college or technical schools for job retraining.
But the number of training grants has been shrinking, even as the number of out-of-work residents is growing. Just three years ago, the state was putting more than $14.6 million in the fund for the grants. Now that number has shrunk to $9.3 million, according to state budget figures.
As of Sept. 30, 3,622 students were enrolled in the program, but state budget figures show there is enough money this year for only 2,750 grants, so not everyone will qualify.
The students in Trinidad's group said they had taken the test once but none of them did well.
So on this day, their textbooks were open to cumbersome math problems reminiscent of a high school course.
Trinidad, of Atlantic City, said she wants to return to school to become a cosmetology instructor - a field she has worked in before.
"I'm starting over so much later in life and it's hard to remember this stuff," the 54-year-old said.
Kevin Smith, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said the tests are difficult for a reason. It is important that training be responsive to the needs of the individual worker, Smith said. The TABE is used to determine the individual's skill level and aptitude in reading, math and English, he said.
The TABE is used for Workforce Learning Link and Workforce Investment Act Title II programs. Under the Trade Assistance Act, or TAA, workers must receive an assessment and evaluation, but the method is not specified by regulation, Smith said.
The Workforce Learning Link recommends students be pre- and post-tested at a ninth- and 10th-grade level, Smith said.
Nicole Coleman, 37, of Atlantic City, is studying to take the TABE and also needs to complete her General Educational Development test, or GED. Because Coleman never graduated from high school, she said she is learning algebra skills for the first time. Coleman was wearing a Bally's Atlantic City sweatshirt as she studied. She worked as a wardrobe coordinator at Bally's for nine years before she was laid off, she said.
"I took my TABE test once and my results were weak. I'm getting tutored now so I can do better," Coleman said. She needs to complete both her GED and achieve an 11th-grade level score in reading, language and math on her test to earn a grant that will allow her to be trained as a surgical technician.
Joseph Yakaboricz, 48, of Egg Harbor Township, scrawled math problems over a sheet of paper.
"I write everything out because I'm learning it all," he said as he scribbled down an equation.
Yakaboricz said he was also a wardrobe coordinator at Bally's before he was laid off. He said he graduated from high school but never took any advanced math courses, although he did take some bookkeeping courses.
"I got sick of algebra and I dropped out because I couldn't figure out all the letters," he said.
He is now pursuing a career in medical coding and billing, which will require him to earn 8th-grade level scores on his reading, language and math sections on the TABE.
On Tuesday, Katy Wilson, 29, of Atlantic City, was busy studying for her test at Borders Cafe in Hamilton Township.
Wilson said when the economy tanked and shoppers stopped buying $14,000 Cartier and Rolex watches, she knew her job was in trouble. She worked in a casino retail store for 12 years, she said.
"I went from making $25 an hour to this," she said on a recent evening as she studied to take the TABE the next day.
She said she is hoping to land a new job in the medical field, but on her first attempt at the test she placed in the sixth-grade math level.
Hunched over an algebra text book, Wilson nervously plotted coordinates on a graph in her worn notebook.
"It's hard to remember algebra when you're pushing 30. Now I have to take a test at 8:45 in the morning and my brain won't even be awake," Wilson said.
Contact Donna Weaver:
609-226-9198
Sample questions
1. If 300 jellybeans cost you x dollars. How many jellybeans can you purchase for 50 cents at the same rate?
A. 150/x
B. 150x
C. 6x
D. 1,500/x
E. 600x
2. Solve the following equation for A: 2A/3 = 8 + 4A
A. -2.4
B. 2.4
C. 1.3
D. -1.3
E. 0
3. If r = 5 z then 15 z = 3 y, then r =
A. y
B. 2 y
C. 5 y
D. 10 y
E. 15 y
4. If 8x + 5x + 2x + 4x = 114, then 5x + 3 =
A. 12
B. 25
C. 33
D. 47
E. 86
5. If y = 3, then y3(y3-y)=
A. 300
B. 459
C. 648
D. 999
E. 1099
Answer key:
1. A
2. A
3. A
4. C
5. C
Posted in Atlantic, Breaking on Friday, October 30, 2009 9:30 am Updated: 1:49 pm.
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