Encore: Work that matters in the second half of life.

Say you want an encore career as a teacher, but don’t know how to get certified. Or do you wonder how to put your knowledge of accounting to work helping at-risk kids?

Community colleges — known for their accessibility, affordability and flexibility — are increasingly the place to go for boomers seeking to make the switch to encore careers.

“50 Plus Learners Find Passion Through Encore Careers,” in the Community College Journal, describes the efforts at 10 such “encore colleges” that are part of the MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Community College Encore Career Project.

Marc Freedman and Judy Goggin of Civic Ventures describe community college programs that focus on areas where workforce needs are high, such as education, health care and social services. Some of the programs provide broader introductions to midlife transitions and social-purpose careers.

For example, Virginia Community College System’s Career Switchers Program helps qualified people become teachers through an intense yet manageable program that allows them to still work full time.

Wylie Schwieder started the program in January and has already been hired as a long-term substitute while he completes work on his teaching credential. He said the program is “easy and it makes sense.”

Other programs include:

• Collin County Community College District outside of Dallas helps prepare and certify second-career teachers, many of them downsized from the telecommunications industry.
• Owensboro Community and Technical College in Kentucky helps transition retiring nurses into encore careers as adjunct nurse educators to help train a new generation of nurses.
• Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C., offers a “Success to Significance” program aimed at baby boomers seeking encore careers.
• Washtenaw Community College outside of Detroit hosts regular Encore Career Forums to help participants launch encore careers as for-profit or non-profit entrepreneurs.