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Sixty-Something And Back On The Factory Floor

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An AccuRounds factory in Avon, Mass. (Courtesy of AccuRounds)
An AccuRounds factory in Avon, Mass. (Courtesy of AccuRounds)

Here & Now Guests:

  • Richard Rogers, a machine operator at AccuRounds in Avon, Massachusetts
  • Michael Tamasi, AccuRounds president and CEO

The Labor Department recently reported that unemployment among older workers, 55 and up, is at its highest level since the department began collecting data in 1948.

It's tough for older workers, who have lost their jobs in the recession, to find new work. They often have to develop new skills or get new training in jobs they've been doing for years to compete in today's marketplace.

But Richard Rogers beat the odds. He was a machinist, and he went back to school as he was pushing 60 to get training to land a new job.

Rogers told Here & Now's Robin Young that his biggest fear was that he would be able to put his education to use: "I got a good education, but would someone hire me at my age?"

Rogers was able to get a job at the company AccuRounds, which makes precision machine parts in Avon, Massachusetts.

This segment aired on June 14, 2011.

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