PINEBLUFF
Harold and Pat Clark always worked in textiles.
But finding that kind of work is no longer easy for the Moore County couple, who are both in their mid-50s. Harold Clark said he's been laid off three times in 11 months, while his wife has stayed home for about 15 years.
Recently, the Clarks took advantage of a rare opportunity. They learned sewing skills from a parachute manufacturer in Pinebluff in hopes of getting jobs with the company, which contracts with the military.
For four days, the couple went to the BRS Defense parachute plant to learn how to sew low-velocity cargo parachutes.
"I'm going to put everything I've got into this," Pat Clark said while drawing a mock-up sewing pattern.
Neither she nor her husband had ever sewn before.
"I'm a believer," she said. "If other people can learn it, I can learn it, too," Pat Clark said.
The parachute manufacturer took over an old curtain factory less than two years ago. In July, it announced plans to hire 80 shift workers. Less than two months later, parent company BRS Aerospace said that about 20 or more workers will be needed.
Gary Moore, a spokesman for BRS Aerospace, said that 110 to 120 people could be hired.
The workers needed most are sewers, who will be trained to use industrial sewing machines to stitch parachute panels together. Cutters, lifters, inspectors and packers also are in short supply.
In all, the contract will bring in more than $6.6 million, Moore said.
The Clarks, who attended all four classes, said they plan to put in job applications.
BRS Defense has been contracted by the Army to produce more than 4,500 parachutes through September 2011.
The parachutes, made from woven polypropylene instead of more expensive ripstop nylon, are used to drop cargo or help in delivering disaster-relief supplies, said Kerry Smith, the quality manager at the Pinebluff plant.
Most of the parachutes will go to Afghanistan.
The company has smaller orders from the Air Force and Army to produce high-velocity parachutes.
People can sign up for four free classes each week through Oct. 26. Each session runs Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The service is made available through a state-funded Sandhills Community College training program. Those who sign up for classes must be at least 18; they don't have to attend the community college.
"This is a skill you can learn, and they are taking the time to teach it," said Dianne Poindexter, 45, a student from Aberdeen who had never sewn before. "A lot of places in Moore County don't do that.
"When a job says, ‘You need experience,' well, how do you get experience if you never get the chance to learn it?"
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