SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM (SCSEP)

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is a community service and paid job training program for older workers. It was authorized by Congress in Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1985 to provide subsidized, part-time job training for low-income persons 55 years of age or older.

SCSEP is designed to help older workers receive the training they need to find jobs in the community. Through SCSEP, participants can leverage the service they provide their communities to upgrade their skills and pursue new job opportunities. They also have access to a wide array of services to help qualify them for positions in today's job market, such as computer training.

What is the goal of SCSEP?

In addition to providing community services and paid part-time job training, the program has a goal of building your skills and confidence to succeed in a job.

Participants train up to 20 hours a week and are paid the highest of federal, state or local minimum wage. There are a wide variety of community service training opportunities at non-profit and public facilities, including day-care centers, senior community centers, schools and hospitals.

Goodwill Services for Seniors

To help you find a job, Goodwill will:
• Assess your interests, skills, and abilities,
• Help you develop an employment plan,
• Provide support and connect you with needed resources and specialized training, and
• Assist you in finding and keeping employment.

Are you eligible for SCSEP?

Eligible participants must:
• Be 55 years of age or older
• Meet family income requirements (Goodwill will assist you in determining this)
• Not be currently employed and have poor employment prospects
• Be a resident of a county where the program is operating.
*Priority is given to persons over 60 years of age, Veterans, and individuals with the greatest economic need.

Services are currently offered in Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Lexington, and Richland Counties.

Would your non-profit organization or government agency like to be a host agency?

The SCSEP program can provide additional manpower to your organization. SCSEP host agencies provide training to the participant and Goodwill provides the participant a training stipend. Our participants are matched to the work of your agency and provide the help you need while gaining skills to help them reenter the workforce.

What we do:
• Goodwill identifies older workers who meet specific criteria (such as age and income requirements), and then assesses their skills and abilities.
• Goodwill matches an older worker with your nonprofit organization or public agency that can provide job training opportunities in professional work settings.
• SCSEP pays the wages and benefits of the older worker- typically up to 20 hours per week.
• Goodwill monitors the enrollee’s progress in training and assists with evaluating his or her performance.
• While the older worker learns new skills, Goodwill helps him or her transition into permanent employment, either at the training site (if a position becomes available) or at another employer in the community.

SCSEP can provide your organization with the temporary additional staffing assistance necessary to strengthen the programs and services you provide to the community. Many of our host agency supervisors have found that they are able to delegate work assignments and complete priority tasks more effectively by having Goodwill SCSEP participants train at their agency. Additionally, as a host agency for Goodwill SCSEP, you will be providing valuable training for a person in your community who is trying to reenter the workforce.

Host Agencies cite these qualities in older workers: a superior work ethic, loyalty to the employer, maturity in the workplace, flexible schedules, and eagerness to learn new technologies.

For more information on the SCSEP program, please contact us.

Click here for information on Goodwill's other job training and placement programs and resources.