Program helps find seniors employment

For the past 15 years, Emily Leckie has labored to help others around her find employment and gain work experience.

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"It's rewarding to help someone that is having financial difficulties," said Leckie, the employment training coordinator for Experience Works, a senior employment program that recently relocated in the National Hills Park Center of Augusta. "Our applicants are finding it hard just to provide the necessary things that keep them going, such as buying food, paying utilities and having a place to live and so forth."

The Martinez resident recently received the Making a Difference Award from Experience Works during the nonprofit organization's national conference, which was held in Washington, D.C. Leckie, who called the accomplishment a "team effort," was among about 30 other recipients nationwide who were recognized for their service.

Experience Works provides on-the-job training and community service opportunities for seniors 55 and older with low to moderate incomes.

"Emily was one of our highest performers around the country in terms of the services she provided to people, helping them get onto our program so that they could get training and get paid the minimum wage and also, in helping them move on to other jobs," Experience Works President and CEO Cynthia Metzler said.

The company has a staff of about 200 members throughout the country with locations in 30 states and Puerto Rico.

"I think she has a real dedication to helping older people have opportunities," Metzler said. "She's really creative at looking at what are the employment needs in an area and what kind of jobs are suitable for older people to do."

Metzler added that Leckie was a pioneer in creating a program that trained seniors to become certified nurse assistants.

Through her work, Leckie also helps the seniors gain self-confidence in their quest for finding a job.

"I had some troubling times myself with financial difficulties, and I know what it is to be in that position," she said. "I know how important jobs are and what it does to a person's self-esteem and their self-confidence."

Leckie said they match seniors' skills to a certain task within a non-profit organization. This could include clerical and custodial positions as well as that of a teacher's aide, among other jobs, she said.

Leckie, who was employed in workforce development for 10 years before joining Experience Works, estimates she has assisted thousands of people over the years. During the current economic recession, she said she's seen many more people needing help.

"I think that it's a lot more than money that (brings people) in," she said. "It's the fact that you're doing something for yourself; you're taking care of yourself. That's really the reward in it."