The recent hiring spree by Westinghouse Electric Co. conjures up images of freshly minted college grads.
Then there's Jerry Roell, age 61. Last year he ended two years of early retirement and moved from Cincinnati to the North Hills to join a company buoyed by orders for nuclear reactors in the United States and abroad.
"It's good to have a mix," Roell said, of his new coworkers. "Most are a lot younger; some of us are older. There's a lot to learn, and it's a demanding job. But it's been a good move for me."
Heightened concern about global warming has utility companies again turning to nuclear energy to augment coal-fired power plants. Westinghouse is building its AP1000 reactor in China and India, has contracts for six reactors in the United States, and is the favored builder for nearly a dozen more proposed U.S. plants.
The company, which is moving from Monroeville to Cranberry over the next year, has hired 2,600 workers locally in the past four years. Although many of the hires are recent college graduates, company officials say three-quarters of the nuclear engineering firm's hires are experienced workers, many of them in their 50s and 60s.
"We're hiring a blend of experience levels ... including mid-career workers and people that are very experienced," said John Orfanopoulos, Westinghouse recruiting manager. The 50-plus workers "bring professional maturity and knowledge of the business that's very valuable."
The experience of Westinghouse's older hires runs counter to what is happening in the larger economy, experts said.
Joblessness was 9.5 percent for Americans over 16 in June, a 26-year high. Although the rate for those ages 55 and older is lower, at 7 percent, that's the highest rate for that age group since 1949. A recent AARP analysis found older Americans are losing jobs faster than other workers, and taking longer to find new jobs.
Karrie Valauri,director of the AARP Foundation's WorkSearch program in Western Pennsylvania, said it's not always enough for older workers to update their skills on their own. Some would-be employers want to see formal training certifications.
"Many of these workers can't afford to pay for more training," Valauri said. "They're trying to keep their families afloat."
One thing most older workers have that younger rivals lack, however, is a network of contacts, said Bill Byham, CEO of the Kirwan Heights office of global human resources firm Developmental Dimensions International.
"That's their big advantage," said Byham, author of the book "70: The New 50
."
"They have a solid network of people that can help get them get jobs. You just don't want them to be too proud to use it."
Such connections are what brought Dan Soroka, 60, back to the Pittsburgh area. A Youngstown native who worked for Westinghouse in the 1970s, he moved onto a machine tool company in Elmira, N.Y. But the erosion of U.S. manufacturing and the company's downsizing made it an increasingly difficult place to work.
"No matter how much you want to get involved in your work, when you have people walking out the door, it's hard to carry on," he said. His work as a global sourcing manager for Westinghouse "is invigorating. It's dynamic. ... They've hired more people here than my old company did in 10 years."
He realizes his situation is unique. He has friends and former colleagues who have been job hunting for months and even years. Their unwillingness to relocate is curtailing their chances.
"If you're not willing to move, then your number of possible employers is very small," he said.
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