In a widespread recession, getting additional certification or learning a new industry is an increasingly common strategy to be poised to take advantage of the recovery when it comes.

Career and professional schools across the nation are seeing an increase in enrollment, mostly from recently laid-off workers who are seeking to find a new career or just get a leg up on the competition, according to an article appearing in the Washington Business Journal.

Harris N. Miller, president of the Career College Association told the news source that the surge in enrollment is tied to the growing unemployment in the country. "We’re getting people going back and upgrading and also people getting skills for the first time," he said.

Different educators are seeing a focus in different fields, according to the Business Journal, with strong interest in areas such as health care, basic carpentry, green building, business, design and technology.

National statistics for enrollment at career colleges in the U.S. is only available to 2007, before the worst of the current economic crisis, but reports indicate the number has gone up. Miller said his organization's schools have seen hikes in enrollment of up to 25 percent since the end of last summer.