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Since it’s summer, here’s a story about turning a lemon of a situation into learning how to make lemonade.
Heston Stokes of Elgin was second-shift floor supervisor of the molding department at SKF Sealing Solutions (formerly Chicago Rawhide) in Elgin, where he worked for five years.
“From the time I got into manufacturing at SKF, it was unstable. Some weeks we would work only four days. Other times, you’d be asked if you wanted to leave 15 to 20 minutes into your shift. Then they would tell us to call to see if there would be work available the next week or not to come in at all,” Stokes said.
Then the layoffs began.
“Our plant was like the flagship. The first layoff was shocking. The second layoff came and we thought, ‘maybe they’re done.’ By the third layoff, my department was done for,” said Stokes, who got the axe in March.
The molding department did a lot of the work for GM, Ford and Chrysler. Stokes said SKF split it in half, sending some of the work to South Dakota and the rest to Guadalajara.
“They still use the Elgin facility for training engineers from all over the country. The aerospace department is still there, but it’s a small department. They serve Boeing, the military and the government,” he said.
So Stokes, 31, and a married father of five, figured it was time to pursue a dream.
“I’ve always wanted to go back to school to get a degree in criminal justice,” said Stokes, who has family in law enforcement.
And he landed a Career Stimulus Scholarship at Northwestern College in Naperville. The two-
year school started the program to help people who find themselves without work. It’s good for up to $4,800 and open to those who qualify who lost their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31 of this year.>
“I’m using the scholarship to pay for school. My former employer applied for a government grant for retraining employees in different professions, and I should be receiving that soon,” Stokes said.
