Growing Number of Parents Return to Classroom to Retrain for the Workforce

A growing number of parents in the United States decided that it is not too late to return to the classroom as they look to retrain for the workforce.

According to a survey by the College Savings Foundation in Washington, D.C., many parents of college-aged students are now changing careers. They will need more career and education training, however, during a time when the job market landscape in the country is dramatically changing.

The survey found that 41 percent of parents, including single parents, are now looking for career-oriented and affordable higher education for themselves and their kids by receiving technical training at community colleges.

Denise Troy returns to college to become a nurse

That is the case for Denise Troy. The single mom of five has chosen Robeson Community College (RCC) to be her gateway in achieving her dream of becoming a nurse. Troy, who is now in her early 40s, said that when she was younger, she always wanted to help people, but with having a child at a young age, she had to reconsider her goals.

Troy became a Certified Nursing Assistant while she was in high school. She then held jobs in home health and hospice throughout her 20s. She continued moving up in the healthcare workforce, with Troy going back to school to learn phlebotomy through RCC's continuing education course. Troy said that training helped her in her current role as a Certified Dialysis Tech.

Troy said she received on-the-job training for Dialysis Tech, but learning phlebotomy helped her because many of the same principles carry over into that profession. She added that she has been in the medical field all her life, but her goal was always to be a nurse.

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Troy gets needed encouragement from her daughters

Denise attended RCC back In 2004, but she had to stop when she had another baby. She said that she had no support at the time and she needed to take care of her children. With many of her kids now grown up, Troy decided it was time for her to finish what she started so many years ago.

She credited her daughters — Lillymae, True, Lyric, Chania, and Zaneta - with this decision, saying her girls gave her the push that she needed to go back to school and achieve her dreams. Troy said she applied to RCC and completed financial aid. She signed up for classes and her story goes on.

Troy is enrolled in four classes this semester, namely: Introduction to Ethics, Medical Terminology, Introduction to Health Careers, and Anatomy & Physiology. All of these classes are needed for Troy to be accepted into the nursing program.

Troy told The Robesonian that she was very discouraged at first about coming back to school. She said that she was older and she had to take online classes to try to get into the nursing program. She never gave up, though, with Troy's daughters giving her encouragement.

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