After a Layoff: Now What to Do? : Ton Bui, head of a vocational school in Orange, talks about retraining. He speaks from experience--he’s been through it. It can be the path to re-employment in a difficult economy.

Inside a two-story brick building here, dozens of laid-off workers squint at computers or stoop over drafting desks. Others can be seen outside in the building’s parking lot, taking deep drags on their cigarettes and staring into space.

Those are the faces that Ton Bui sees every day as president of MTI College, a vocational school. Like other training centers, Bui’s business has grown because of an influx of Orange County workers who have lost their jobs. But as people increasingly look to such schools as a path to re-employment, many are asking questions about the training programs and what’s best for workers.

Bui, 46, has owned and operated MTI College since 1984. A philosophy teacher in his native Vietnam, Bui himself went through a vocational training program after working at a variety of jobs, including mopping floors for minimum wage.

Last week Bui spoke about the basics of job training.

Question: How do I know whether I need training?

Answer: If you are not sure, the results of your effort to find employment should give signals whether or not you need additional training. Usually after 10 interviews you should know what you don’t have.

Many employers these days are looking for someone with not just the tools to do the job but additional tools. Later on, the employer may want them to do something different. It is your job to ask the employer, “Please tell me, what do I need to apply later on for a job with your company?” Be very frank with the employer. Usually they will tell you. You need to come away from your interview with that answer.

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Q: How do I go about picking the area for training?

A: If you were laid off, you already had at least one career. That is an asset you have now. So when you try to find out what different area of study to go into, you should first look at whether that study will enhance your current skills. You don’t want to throw away your past skill.

The second thing is, now you may have a chance to do something you really like. Search deep inside yourself and find out what you really like to do and what you feel comfortable doing. And talk to your family. They will have to listen to you later about your decision, whether you like it or not.

And try to look at something that will last you until you retire. A common mistake is that people pick something that looks at the current market demand. You should not plan your future, your career or training on a six-month or one-year job market. It’s very hard to predict, but you have to do your best. Talk to people, go to EDD (Employment Development Department). About 10 years ago, when computers were still very expensive, we had one student who spent about six or seven grand to buy an XT personal computer. He knew that computers would be the wave of the future, and now he’s excellent.

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Q: What do I do if I can’t find work in the field for which I have completed training?

A: Usually you learn a skill that can be applied to different areas of employment. Someone who learns paralegal studies, for example, can work for not just law firms. They can work for an insurance company, a corporation, city or counties, anything to do with legal issues--legal secretary, legal clerk, assistant to paralegal.

You are learning something that can be applied, and not just 100% for what you want to become. There are students who go out of training, and they want to work specifically in that area. But in many cases it won’t work that way. When a job opportunity comes up that’s related to what you learned, go ahead and do it. Take the job, get a paycheck, bring bread and butter to your family. Then sharpen your skills, and then look again.

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Q: How do I pick the right school for training?

A: First, you need to see list of available schools--in the phone directory, Economic Development Department, ads in newspapers. Then select the school that provides what you need or want to learn, and contact them for an interview.

The next step is the most important: Ask for the placement statistics. The school with about 65% placement or above is a stable school.

Also, talk to the job placement office, tour the school. You need to be exposed to the classroom environment, you need to observe. The key thing is, you have to ask the school how the program is to be delivered. Most of the schools have the same idea of what they teach. But how is it being taught? Who’s teaching the curriculum? Does the teacher have industry-related experience? The curriculum, is it industry related?

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Q: What can the student do to get the most out of training?

A: Training is one of the products where the buyer has to perform the majority of the work. The more the buyer studies, the better the product becomes, and the less the buyer depends on the seller or the teachers, the better the product may be.

The curriculum is designed for an average student, but if you think you can do better, then let the teachers know so they can help you excel. Besides making sure the school teaches according to the curriculum, you have to try to excel somehow.

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Q: After completing training, how long can I expect to be out in the job market before I land a job?

A: There’s no simple answer to that. I would talk to the job placement department at the school. I would ask for a list or example of students who have the same background as I do and went through the same program. Find out the student who got a job almost right away and the student who got a job two, three months later and students who never got jobs. Try to contact them. If you can’t, ask the placement officer, and try to learn from that.

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Q: What pay expectations can I have in my new job?

A: It depends. I may be able to get what I got before if I land a job doing what I did before, though it may be in another state or another country. If I present myself only with my new skill, I know I will not get paid a lot. But if I can combine my old skill and new skill, I have a chance to make even more money.

But how do I pursue that? It takes a lot of planning, a lot of determination. People who almost give up on themselves and say, “I’ll never get paid that much,” . . . it’s hard for them to get the money they want.

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Q: What advice do you have for aerospace workers who are laid off?

A: One perception about aerospace workers is that they are highly specialized technicians. How can I overcome that? If you look at the resume of the same guy, one resume might say, “I worked on the B-1 bomber control console.” But that same resume could be changed instead to “remote control device.”