January 31st, 2009 9:08 PM
WEEK
Luke Willams is just one of many Americans who have found themselves jobless as a result of the economic recession. And now military recruiters say they are seeing a higher volume of people seeking military jobs.
Williams is an electrical engineer and until last week, had a job at a company doing contract work for Caterpillar. He was well aware of the economic times, but was broad-sided when he got to work last Thursday.
"Set my jacket down, didn't even sit down, grabbed my cup to go get a drink. Was walking back to my desk, got called into the office...go let go", said Williams.
Having only had the job less than a year, he was grateful for the severance pay, but says he must act quickly to stay on his feet.
After college, Williams thought of joining a nuclear engineering program through the Navy, but perused a job in Peoria instead.
"But now this may be an opportunity to where I can go ahead and take a second look at all that they have to offer and maybe do something with them", said Williams.
And Sergeant Hakim Jackson says he's not the only one. Jackson says the Marine Corps has experienced an influx of new recruits locally.
"Two offices, one in Pekin and one up here in Peoria, and both offices have been busy. I had to get an extra recruiter from St. Louis to come up and help us out", said the Peoria Marine Corps Substation Commander.
Sergeant Jackson says those coming in to the recruitment offices, are much like Williams...College graduates who can't find work, or have been laid off. Jackson says the military offers something many businesses don't in this day and age.
"Financial stability, not only that, but they can offer all the other medical and dental".
And Williams says if he goes into the military with his educational background, he will be able come in with a higher rank. He believes in the "top 10 percent. You can say that in very rare instances in a lot of other companies, especially as a younger engineer".
The Peoria, Naval, and Army recruitment stations have also seen an influx of new recruits, and people enquiring about what the armed forces offers.
And with the economy in a freefall, it looks like nationally, those number will continue to increase.
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