Ron Guerin, Lawrence, was recently laid off from Sprint. Guerin is now using social networking Web sites to spread the word about himself to try to find a job. Guerin said that he hoped his technology skills will serve him well in the job market and that he was looking at ways to transfer his experience to a new job.

Ron Guerin’s job hunt has stretched over four months — since he was laid off as a senior-level project manager at Sprint in Overland Park.

Looking for a job at age 59 wasn’t exactly in the Lawrence man’s life plan.

“My thoughts are that I really thought I was done with this nonsense, but OK, so you have to take your licks and move on,” said Guerin, who is tracking down leads for a job in the technology sector.

Guerin’s wife, Karen Cochran, retired in 2007 from the Lawrence school district, and she now works for the United Way of Greater Topeka. Their children are adults now, and Guerin has been trying to keep a positive attitude and get his name out there among a network of technology-based businesses in northeastern Kansas.

The job market is very tough. Competition is fierce for the few jobs that are available. Other than his dogged quest to meet as many people as possible in the Lawrence, Topeka and Kansas City areas, one thing Guerin has in his favor is his experience in technology.

“I look at my skill set and how it can transfer,” say Guerin, who aims to help a smaller technology company grow or try to catch on with a larger company that offers computer project work.

As the country and state hope to rebound from the recession soon, economists and labor experts say another challenge for workers is having to reinvent themselves and possibly transfer into a new field — such as computer technology or the medical sector — because the demand in their own job field has shrunk or become more obsolete.

“The future of employment, if you want to have a good standard of living, means also you’re also going to have a future of constantly re-equipping yourself so that you are marketable in the economy,” said Donna Ginther, a Kansas University economics professor and director of the Center for Economic and Business Analysis.

Job growth

Labor experts predict that jobs that will show the most growth in the next 10 years are in the health care sector, such as nurses, nurse practitioners and aides, as the nation’s population ages.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘I want to go be a certified nursing assistant, a certified medical aide or a pharmacy technician because there’s a need for that,'” said Shirley Martin-Smith, owner of an Adecco staffing franchise in Lawrence and president of Martin-Smith Personnel Services.

In its projections for 2014, Kansas Department of Labor economists listed the state’s top 10 fastest-growing occupations based on its percentage increase. Five were in health care: Medical assistants, home health aides, dental assistants, dental hygienists and physician assistants.

The others in the top five were: Network systems and data analyst, social service specialists, fiberglass laminators, sales engineers and computer software engineers.

Every business now relies on computer technology, creating a need for workers who can support such technology.

“The Internet has created this huge reservoir of information, but we are only beginning to be able to use that information to make informed decisions,” Ginther said.

Energy changes

One new wrinkle and developing field would likely come in the energy sector.

Engineers and workers will be needed to design and operate technology to harness renewable energy, such as biofuels and wind energy, especially in Kansas. The state is also putting stock in research jobs in the bioscience industry.

“I would guess most of the green jobs are going to be unique. I think they would require a different employment than what we traditionally have,” said Tyler Tenbrink, a labor economist with the Kansas Department of Labor.

It would be wise for younger people to consider the future demand for these types of jobs when they start college or technical school, Ginther said.

“In general, people with a science and math background and a health care background will be in great demand,” she said.

However, it might be difficult for older workers, possibly in the manufacturing sector, to pick up new skills. Ginther said community and technical colleges do offer certain programs in health care and other industries that will help with training.

With development of green jobs, some workers such as welders could still be needed.

“It will be the same skills. They will just be using them in a different way,” said Jay Pryor, a business consultant with the nonprofit Heartland Works Inc. of northeastern Kansas.

State business leaders say it might be into 2011 before Kansas hits its economic stride again. Several traditional sectors, such as aircraft manufacturing and agriculture, likely will bounce back. But during the transition, many Kansans might need to keep their eyes open for some type of change to make themselves employable.

“I think it’s fair to outline a need of folks to be thinking creatively,” said Amy Blankenbiller, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.

Guerin, the Lawrence resident who lost his job at Sprint four months ago, says he stays positive in hopes that his management experience for a technology company will land him in another job soon.

“It’s tough market. There’s a lot of smart, experienced people who are competing for a very small pool of jobs,” he said. “It’s a fine line between being depressed and angry and getting down. It takes effort to stay up and upbeat.”