Smith gets ahead in cosmetology school
At 54, Smith has entered cosmetology school in what some believe is an unlikely choice since he has worked in factories for 32 years as a lead man and receiving clerk.
But there’s a practical reason he’s there. When he was laid off from Dezurik about two years ago, he knew he had to do something. He was fortunate to find another job at a local factory, but that only lasted four months.
He wanted to go to barber school because his brothers own a local barber shop, but didn’t find much help or interest at the barber school in Cookeville, he said.
“Everything just fell into place and I’m here,” he said of New Age Beauty Academy on North Chancery Street, where he will endure several more months of training before going into the field, if all goes as planned.
There’s no getting around the fact that Smith, a married father of one, is the only male of about 20 classmates learning the trade. There was another male student enrolled in the 48-week program, according to school director Joyce Myers, but he recently left due to health problems.
Myers said it’s not that uncommon to have males entering the field, because more men are seeking cosmetology services.
“To me, it’s a good field to get into and more men should probably look into it because I’ve noticed a lot of men coming in here,” Smith said of the school, even though he is planning to become a barber in the family business.
“I know where I can go when I get out,” he added. “That helped determine my decision. That, and I was kind of tired of being in the factory life.”
Smith’s placement in the program is the result of federal re-training through the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, which provides assistance to displaced workers whose jobs have been lost due to factory closures.
He is paid while in training and the school is being paid for through funding via the Trade Adjustment Assistance and the Trade Readjustment Allowance, or TRA.
Myers said she will have another class in another few months, with some falling under the TRA funding, but only after she complies with about two months of paperwork. Smith said the paperwork and assistance of the local unemployment office were critical to him being received at the school.
Myers said she is looking forward to Smith’s placement after he completes, although he is set on becoming a barber.
“He’s had several offers and the closer he gets to finishing, the more offers he will have,” she added.
More information about the training program, which applies broadly to formal, full-time instruction for displaced workers, can be found by visiting the federal Department of Labor’s web site at www.doleta.gov or by calling the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development locally at 473-2153.