FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      9/14/2010

From Elizabeth Anderson, Executive Director   (715) 839-5058 or (888) 772-4337

Senior Citizens Employment and Training, Inc.

800 Wisconsin Street, Mailbox 88, Eau Claire, WI 54703

Successful Computer Training Program Expands

In 2009, Senior Citizens Employment and Training (SCET) was selected to pilot a new computer training program designed for seniors with little or no computer experience.  In just a few months, the pilot program trained nearly 100 seniors in Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties, and was so successful that the agency is expanding the program to include ten training sites in six counties.

The innovative Generations on Line™ Digital Inclusion Program features small group classes, a special training website, and trained peer coaches—other seniors who have completed the program.  Generations On Line™ students meet twice a week with a peer coach, working through the program at their own pace.  Most take between six and nine weeks to finish the course.  Eilert Honadol, one of the first students at the Augusta training site, was 79 when he started training.  By the end of the course he was using email and researching craft suppliers on the web.  Asked what he liked best about the training, Honadol said he “learned how to find things that I was afraid to try by myself.”

Anyone 55 or over can take the training, which is now offered in Chippewa Falls, Stanley, Eau Claire, Augusta and Marshfield.  For more information about the Generations on Line™ training program, call (715) 839-5058, or outside of Eau Claire, toll free (888) 772-4337.  This program is operated under a U.S. Department of Labor grant in cooperation with Senior Service America, Inc., and is an equal opportunity program.