Sherry Marsh (pictured) admits she wasn’t surprised when after 10 years she was laid off from her job at a local furniture store – downturn in the housing and staging market and general economic unease had affected business.

Unable to find a comparable job in her field, she grew anxious about providing for her family and finding a suitable job in the local marketplace.

While looking for new employment at a local resource centre, Sherry heard about the Province of Ontario’s Second Career Strategy, a government initiative to help unemployed and underemployed workers make the transition to new careers in growing areas of the economy.

She conducted local labour market research and completed a training plan with help from an employment counsellor. After looking at her work history, education, training, skills and areas of interest, Sherry decided to pursue a high-demand career in practical nursing.

“I decided to study at Georgian because of its reputation and graduate employment and satisfaction rates,” said Sherry. “It’s close to home, so I’ll be able to balance work and home life and shifting priorities with schoolwork.”

Sherry completed Academic Upgrading courses in chemistry, biology and math last December and is now in the Practical Nursing program at the Barrie Campus.