In our view June 29: New Adventures

It's inspirational, innovative and engaging— a new work-force trend that holds promise for lifting us off the bottom of this persistent recession.

"Entrepreneurial" best describes it, and it's an encouraging sign in these difficult times.

Laid-off workers in growing numbers — especially older ones — are creating their own business opportunities, and giving themselves a new employment start.

Plenty of activity is going on at several locations to put people back to work in new ventures.

Lisa Nisenfeld, executive director of the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council in Vancouver, and Tim Probst, CEO of Washington Workforce Association, who is also a state representative, are working hard at work force changes.

Nisenfeld sees positive signs rising from a dismal employment picture.

In April 2008, 1,800 people came to the council seeking jobs. By April this year, the number had ballooned to 6,200. With hundreds applying for many job openings, the most creative decided to try the self-help approach, Nisenfeld said. The new-wave entrepreneurs ran the gamut in age, but they "tend to be people with a fair amount of experience under their belts."

Professional engineers are in the business startup group, as well as people who worked in construction and seek to start their own business, especially in renewable energy.

The Workforce Development Council is co-located with the Columbia River Economic Development Council, headed by Bart Phillips, president.

Nisenfeld said her organization and CREDC are working together to connect with an Oregon entrepreneurial group in the field of technology. They will critique business plans of startup companies and "network" for mutual benefit.

The idea is to help reshape the economy through multiple startup companies. "We know we have people with lots of talent, and we'd like to see them plant that talent here," Nisenfeld said.

People leaving failing companies who are starting ventures is a sign of health. It's how "we're really going to fix our economy, and it's encouraging to see," Probst said. "Not all will make it, but many will become the new companies that drive the new economy."

Another encouraging form of work-force revitalization is affecting people. As state legislator, Probst successfully introduced a bill that created opportunity internships for high school students. The program offers internships in high-need fields such as health care, allowing recipients to become eligible for college. It looks to the future, and is not about temporary fixes such as the next new lending mechanisms or cash infusions, Probst said.

Retraining, new skills courses and entrepreneurial studies are offered at higher learning levels such as Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver.

Writing in the June 21 Columbian about older workers who create new businesses, reporter Erin Middlewood noted, "history shows a pattern of startups emerging in economic downturns." She reminded readers of a fellow named Bill Gates who, at 19, started a company in 1975 during a recession.

Middlewood quoted Suresh Kotha, faculty director at the University of Washington's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: "A layoff is 'a trigger for people to do what they already wanted to do.'" Kotha also observed, "People start businesses because they don't like working for someone else."

Viewed from those aspects, the recession sounds like a golden opportunity for older workers and others whose 9-to-5 ties have been cut by the economic crisis.