KME employees who lost their jobs this week are learning that there is a way forward, thanks to state agencies dedicated to helping workers find new jobs.

About half of the 70 KME employees who were terminated this week attended a session held by the Department of Labor and Industry’s Rapid Response team on Friday.

“We’re going to help them out, we’re gonna get them back to work, and this is just the start of it,” said rapid response coordinator Rich Parry,

All but a handful were Carbon County residents, and some had been working there for decades. They covered a wide age range. They were reluctant to talk about their termination or share their names, because of a gag order in their release paperwork.

“When you have a job, you don’t expect to lose your job. Then one day you learn your job is terminated. It’s overwhelming. It’s not too fun,” one worker said.

But they said they were encouraged by what they learned at the meeting — which included information about programs for job searches, retraining and unemployment compensation.

“There’s other options; there’s all kinds of different programs we didn’t know about walking in today,” one former KME employee said.

The workers heard about their opportunities to seek new jobs from the Carbon County CareerLink, which has an office on Broadway in Jim Thorpe.

CareerLink officials said many of the KME employees who lost their jobs have skills that are in demand at other companies, like electrical work and welding.

While some may have to travel beyond Carbon County to find work, there are companies that will want them to do jobs similar to the ones they had at KME. That should help them find work quicker than the average job seeker.

“The good news is the hiring environment in the area is still pretty good. We’ve already had employers reaching out to talk to some of these employees,” said Gary Wentz of Carbon County CareerLink.

Today, the CareerLink website operates almost like a social network. Workers create a profile and list their skills and experience. When employers post jobs that require those skills, the workers receive notifications.

Companies like Silberline, Weatherly Casting and Bimbo Bakery are all looking for new workers right now.

A couple of employers were at the meeting to meet face-to-face with the workers. John R. Powers Jr., CEO of Ashland Technologies, said his company has openings for electrical and mechanical assembly workers in Delano, Schuylkill County, and knew that the former KME workers would have usable skills.

“We’re always looking for skilled people and this was an opportunity to get in front of quite a few of them, and possibly help out,” Powers said.

Some workers said they were excited to take advantage of programs to update the skills they used at KME, and work in a related field, which may be more lucrative.

Bethann Genetti, of the Education Opportunity Center, said that displaced workers like the KME employees are eligible to get up to 12 free credits at local community colleges. She said her office is like a high school guidance counselor for people who are looking to change careers or update their skills.

One former electrician said he wanted to utilize his experience, but update it so he could possibly do industrial maintenance and automation work, a growing part of the manufacturing sector.

“There are educational opportunities that I didn’t know were available. Retraining for different trade skills that are available. The possibility of even changing trades,” he said.

Of course, the session also featured information about the unemployment benefits and other programs available to people who are out of work. Most of the workers in attendance said they had filed for unemployment since Monday — either online, by phone, or at the CareerLink office.

The rapid response team explained programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program, low-income heating assistance program, and other social safety nets, which could help reduce their expenses while they are receiving less take-home pay on unemployment.

The workers said that the 2 1/2 hour session was encouraging as they take the next step.

“There’s more help than I thought there was. I was excited to see that some people are trying to help us. It helps that you’re not alone,” a worker said.