“After 20 years in this business, I’m still amazed at what I learn from older workers,” says Paul Magnus, Vice President of Workforce Development of the Akron, Ohio-based Mature Services, Inc. In this capacity, Magnus directs Mature Services’ Senior Employment Center, one of 13 national Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) grantees.

“Older workers come to our centers after exhausting other options for finding employment, often needing to start over from scratch. Some have been out of the work force for many years. Some are discouraged after being displaced by downsizing. Some have never have laid hands on a computer. Through the flexibility that SCSEP affords and the relationships we’ve forged within our communities, we’ve been able to help them re-enter the work force, strengthen their self-esteem, and become even more productive citizens.”

A Mature Services meeting at the Cuyahoga County, Ohio Workforce Development Office

Magnus is a proactive, “hands-on” manager. Long before the 2000 Amendments to the Older Americans Act mandated that SCSEP grantees coordinate their programs with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), he was way ahead of the curve. Ohio was an early WIA implementation State. Magnus seized on that opportunity to collaborate from the beginning with the State implementation teams to ensure that Mature Services had a place at the WIA partner table.

His message to his WIA State peers, then and now, is straightforward and strategic: working with Mature Services benefits both SCSEP and One-Stops.

• SCSEP grantees can lighten the One-Stop workload by serving eligible older workers. SCSEP participants can be placed at local One-Stops for their training assignments as an “in kind” contribution--- helping in resource rooms, serving as greeters, and creating a “comfort level” for their fellow seniors.



• One-Stops can help SCSEP— e.g., serving SCSEP-ineligible older workers; providing access to intensive services for SCSEP participants; hosting resume workshops; funding job clubs for older workers; and customizing statistics on their Statewide services to older workers to match SCSEP priority and preference criteria (i.e., veterans and low-income persons).

In Cuyahoga County, Magnus is bringing collaboration full circle: Mature Services has applied to become an approved vendor for the provision of WIA intensive services. Mature Services is also a vendor for Summit and Mahoning Counties and has just secured funding through a partnership with Arbor Employment and Training to provide intensive services to older workers in Cincinnati.

Paul Magnus in conversation with SCSEP participant Margaret Wilkins at the Euclid, Ohio office of the Mature Services' Senior Employment Center

“With an aging population, Workforce Boards are starting to see the need for job training services targeting older workers. The key is to demonstrate that we are enhancing rather than duplicating One-Stop services. For us, this represents a systems approach to integrating services to benefit all One Stop customers.”

“I’m a strong believer in older individuals taking control of their job search,” Magnus asserts. “Seniors need to learn how to access the “hidden” job market. Our interactive job clubs in our Akron, Euclid, Youngstown and Cincinnati offices are conducted like motivational sales meetings.” The clubs help participants to break out of their traditional reliance on advertised job openings, and to market themselves. Participants form networking groups and conduct mock interviews. They learn how their local labor markets work and how to identify growth industries. Most importantly, Magnus notes, “They provide each other with the emotional support and self-confidence that is so critical when older workers are trying to re-enter the labor market. They’re there for each other.”

“We’re very proud of our success stories,” says Magnus. Yvonne Briggs is one example. Laid off from her 5-year secretarial job at a local hospital, Ms. Briggs came to Mature Services for help. She was SCSEP-eligible and placed in a community service assignment in their resource room to help provide services to other older workers as she pursued her job search. Initially reluctant, Ms. Briggs agreed to participate in their WIA-funded Akron Job Club, refreshing her interviewing and job-seeking skills, and benefiting from shared information on job openings. As a result of a Job Club lead and these services, Ms. Briggs is now employed at Metro, the mass transit company serving Akron, as the Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director, a challenging and interesting position. Her experience with Mature Services made her a believer!

MOU signing at the Lake County, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Seated from left to right, first row: Robert J. Dawson, Program Administrator, Employment and Training Division; Paul Magnus; Martin Singer, One-Stop Career Center Administrator Standing, second row: Art Iacofano, Director, Department of Job and Family Services

Magnus’ creativity as a SCSEP administrator is not limited to the WIA collaboration arena. Under his stewardship, Mature Services, Inc. has established excellent relationships with major employers such as Allstate Insurance, Lowe’s and Target. “I have no problem ‘selling’ older workers to employers,” Magnus states. “They have what employers are looking for: reliability, a strong work ethic, customer service skills, and loyalty. Employers tell me that older workers help to stabilize their entire workforce.”

“I think that SCSEP is a very strong, value-added program that is adaptable to a wide array of individual client needs,” says Magnus. “But when you add the partnerships we’ve nurtured with the One-Stop Delivery System, private employers, faith-and community-based organizations, you’ve got something very special. At the end of the day, I know that my dedicated staff and I have made a difference. And that’s what keeps the Mature Services team going.”

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