The number of high-school dropouts seeking GEDs has spiked in the metro area over the past few months — a byproduct of the recession that education advocates say ultimately means a more educated workforce.
For now, though, it does little for those hoping for entry-level work because so few places are hiring.
Paris Labossiere is close to finishing her GED but can’t find a minimum-wage job.
“I used to get a job so easy. I worked at a salon, I worked at movie theaters, at the mall, but they’re gone,” said Labossiere, a 20-year-old who dropped out of a Las Vegas high school.
“It makes me feel sad about myself if I can’t get a job doing something like working at a hotel.”
At Urban Peak, a teen homeless shelter and education program, seven students took prep tests for the GED in October 2007 through March 2008. This school year, in the same time frame, that number jumped to 43.
Emily Griffith Opportunity School in Denver also is seeing more interest in the GED. In 2008, 1,351 students tested for the GED. So far this year, 600 students have taken the tests.
“We’re swamped here,” said Emily Griffith counselor Chris Millius. “Everyone is in the same boat.”
Statewide numbers for 2009 are not yet available.
Jeff Romero, education and employment coordinator at Urban Peak, tries to keep students from getting down when even with a GED they can’t find work.
“That piece of paper is a mark of achievement,” said Romero, who works with King Soopers, Safeway, McDonald’s and some local restaurants to find jobs for students. “Some places would rather hire someone like this than someone who will bail when the economy turns around.”
Jeff Miceli, the owner of Mici Italian restaurants in Denver, said all of his full-time workers have high-school diplomas, “if that.”
“It’s a negative for us if we see a bachelor’s degree or an engineering degree,” Miceli said. “We think they’ll only be here for a short amount of time.”
That said, he recently posted two part-time job openings, and 70 people — many college-educated — applied. He hired a college graduate delivery driver.
The need to find a job in a tough economy also is driving Stephen Gonzalez to seek his GED, with sights on a plumbing apprenticeship.
The 27-year-old high-school dropout was making a good living in construction until he was laid off last year.
Being a high-school dropout in this economy “won’t cut it at all,” Gonzalez said. “This is the first step I’m taking. A lot of people are going on unemployment, but I want to do something different.”
Emily Griffith’s 19 apprenticeships — including pipe fitting, plumbing and electrical — are full. Some have wait lists, but most are simply not accepting new students.
“One of the questions I always hear is will there be a job at the end of this? I can’t guarantee anything, but I want them to do something they’ll love,” Millius said. “We push passion and attitude.”
Millius, who counsels about 200 students a month at the trade school and technical college, said many of those trying to get more education after being laid off have rent and utility bills to pay.
“People are coming in, they’re down, there is stress, there is a lot more anxiety about whether they will find a job,” he said. “We’re trying to get people into fields that won’t be outsourced.”
Allison Sherry: 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com
