GILROY
– In the aftermath of the Indian Motorcycles bankruptcy, Gavilan
College reached out to the more than 300 former employees who were
laid off without notice Sept. 19.
GILROY – In the aftermath of the Indian Motorcycles bankruptcy, Gavilan College reached out to the more than 300 former employees who were laid off without notice Sept. 19.
Gavilan officials sent letters extending a personal invitation to any interested former Indian workers considering enrolling in courses to supplement their job skills or pursue a new interest.
“We wanted to give them some options and things to consider,” President Steve Kinsella said. “There may be a need to retrain, and we just wanted to make our services known to them.”
John Baker, Gavilan’s vice president of student services, contacted Indian shortly after the business closed to request that it mail out the college’s 340 postage-paid letters.
“Since plant closures impact the economy in the area, it’s the responsibility of community colleges statewide to work with employers,” Baker said. “(Community colleges) are the major training institution in California. Whenever there’s a plant closure, we remain sensitive to that, and we want to get information to the employee as quickly as we can to address that.”
The letter, mailed Nov. 13, included information regarding financial aid, grants and loans available, provided contact information for the college’s counseling department and listed important enrollment dates.
Gavilan’s letter hit home for Hollister resident and former Indian quality control inspector Russel Frost.
“I thought it was really cool,” said Frost, who plans to contact a Gavilan counselor to discuss his enrollment options.
After being laid off, Frost said he took a job just to pay the bills, but he was soon receiving unemployment money from the state after his hours were cut.
“I needed to figure something out,” he said.
Frost’s mother suggested he look into going back to school to complete his studies in computer-aided design (CAD) drafting. Frost had taken some CAD drafting classes after high school but stopped when Indian employed him full time.
He looked into his options at Gavilan after receiving the letter and saw that the college offers CAD drafting courses.
“If that’s not saying, ‘Jump on board,’ I don’t know what is,” Frost said. “And if I don’t have to drive to Gilroy every day, that’s perfect. Since I’m not working now, it’s a perfect time.”
Gavilan’s letter said exactly what Indian’s former employees are all thinking, according to Frost.
“Maybe this is the time to go back to school and pursue other things,” he said. “The whole thing left a really bad taste in my mouth, so that’s why I’m going to get into something new.”
Registration for spring semester runs through Jan. 23, 2004, the first day of classes. The admissions office closed for two weeks starting Dec. 22.
For more information, visit www.gavilan.edu
