PORTLAND — Out of work at age 51, Jim Thompson is counting on Portland Community College and the solar industry to pull him through the recession.

At last count, he has applied for about 100 jobs with little response since he was laid off from the semiconductor industry in January. So he's pinning his hopes on a six-week solar technology program at the Rock Creek campus to improve his odds.

But the employment outlook for him and thousands of other laid-off workers flooding community colleges is murky at best.

Despite an additional $17 million in federal stimulus money for retraining laid-off workers in Oregon, the state's 12 percent unemployment rate is the second-highest in the nation. Hiring has slowed even in strong sectors such as health care, welding and renewable energy.

College officials hope that when the economy turns around, Thompson and other workers will be better prepared for the jobs that emerge. But for now, some students are being trained for jobs that aren't there.

"While we are still training people, the job market isn't going to be able to support them necessarily when they come out," said Pamela Murray, PCC's dean of work force, economic and community development.

That hasn't stopped students from enrolling. PCC's enrollment is up 16 percent this spring over last spring, and Mt. Hood and Clackamas community colleges are up about 11 percent.

Community college enrollment is typically tied to the economy: When times are good, potential students get jobs instead. When times are bad, they go back to school.

Welding classes are so popular at Clackamas Community College that the college opened late-night classes from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. this spring.

"It's the only time of day we didn't have classes running," said Paul Wanner, applied technology chairman. Twelve students signed up.

Nursing and welding are the top two high-wage, high-demand occupations in Oregon, according to a December report by the Oregon Employment Department.

Hiring in welding has slowed, but Wanner expects it to be one of the first skilled trades to recover when federal stimulus money comes through for bridges and other structures.

The nursing program at Mt. Hood Community College gets hundreds of applications for about 80 slots.

One of the biggest obstacles to expanding the program is finding instructors, because they can make more in hospitals and medical offices, said Kelli Walker, the college's director of economic and work force development.

But more nurses are now inquiring about teaching at the college because they aren't getting the hours they need, a sign that the health care industry is getting pinched in the recession.

"For the first time, it's, 'My goodness, we could get as many instructors as we need,'" she said.

Manufacturing and renewable energy are other areas in which demand for jobs probably will increase, but "that may not help you if you are going to be graduating in June," she said.

There is buzz around green jobs such as wind technician and energy analyst, but for the most part the jobs aren't there yet, Walker said.

"Our big concern is, when these people are done with training, will the jobs be there," she said. "I think there's no area of the economy that is untouched."

Chris Balfour, a 27-year-old PCC student from Tigard, said he'd still be selling cars for $50,000 a year if the recession hadn't hit.

"I never even thought about school until I went through a month and sold only two cars," he said.

He gave up his dream of a car dealership and enrolled in September after his mother and wife told him to do it for his 3-year-old daughter.

"Son, do you want to be 31 without a degree or 31 with a degree?" his mother asked him.

He didn't take high school seriously and ended up getting a GED. But he approaches college like a job, usually wearing a tie to his classes. He plans to transfer to Portland State University for a bachelor's degree in marketing and work in community relations.

But for now, he can't find any work — not even a retail job.

"It's bad out there right now," he said.

David Gilford, a work force specialist at Clackamas Community College, helps laid-off workers who are receiving unemployment benefits get training and new jobs.

"We are realizing that our existing tool belt doesn't work in this economy," he said. "My normal bag of tricks is not working. We don't have the magic answers."

When Jim Thompson was laid off from his job maintaining semiconductor manufacturing equipment, he found himself unemployed for the first significant stretch of time since before he graduated from high school in 1975.

He and his wife sold their 2,000-square-foot house in Forest Grove and moved into a two-bedroom apartment near PCC's Rock Creek campus.

They are living on his unemployment and hope a certificate in solar voltaic technology will help him get a job with a solar manufacturing company such as SolarWorld.

The certificate is designed to prepare workers for an entry-level factory floor position, which pays about $10 to $15 an hour at SolarWorld.

"I really have to get a job, even if it's a survival job for now," Thompson said.

SolarWorld plans to double its Hillsboro employees, from 500 to 1,000, by 2011. The company has hired 12 students from the PCC program since it started last year, said Bryan Fix, head of human resources for SolarWorld in North America.

But hiring has slowed a little, and there's no guarantee Thompson will get a job there. He's still pursuing other jobs, in case it doesn't work out.

"I wake up every morning believing that this will be the day," he said. "I'm not so beaten down that I'm giving up."

On the Net:

Portland Community College: http://www.pcc.edu/

SolarWorld: http://www.solarworld-usa.com/