EAST MILLINOCKET – A number of displaced Great Northern Paper workers may see their unemployment benefits end later this month if they don’t enter a retraining program.

Under the Free Trade Act, former GNP employees can receive a maximum of 52 weeks of unemployment, according to Carl Segee, a peer support worker with the AFL-CIO. Nearly a year after the paper mills closed in East Millinocket and Millinocket, roughly 200 workers remain unemployed and haven’t moved forward with retraining, Segee said.

Retraining options are still available through the Katahdin Region Higher Education Center, Segee said, but displaced workers need to enroll before their benefits run out.

“For anyone who has just been doing a job search during the 52 weeks, their unemployment benefits could potentially run out,” Segee said Monday. “They need to stop in as soon as possible to see what their options are. They can’t wait.”

KHREC Director Deb Rountree believes there’s reluctance by some people to enroll in retraining because of the false sense of security that the Millinocket facility soon will reopen. With some workers having spent decades in their jobs, there’s also a lack of confidence in going back to school, she said.

“It can be a really scary thing,” Rountree said Monday. “But we can be flexible to meet each person’s individual needs. If they have a problem with reading or writing, we can work with them discreetly and with full confidentiality.”

Free to displaced workers through federal grants, the retraining programs at KHREC include college level courses, vocational classes, high school and GED completion and nontraditional classes, such as heavy machinery training, Rountree said. The staff also will work to arrange classes not offered at the center, she said.

The enrollment process is simple and can be completed in a single meeting at the center, Rountree said. A person discusses their needs and skill levels with a member of the on-site Career Center and then works with Rountree’s office to set up classes or training, she said.

“We take away all the hoops that people have to jump through,” Rountree said. “We figure it out for them.”

People that enroll now could begin classes after the first of the year in KHREC’s winter break term, Rountree said. Beginning on Jan. 5 and lasting three weeks, KHREC will offer classes in workplace basics, computer training, leadership training and supervisory training, she said.

For information about retraining, call KHREC at 746-5741.