Speaker shares details of training program
Courtesy photo/Allan Peterson The graduates of the Pre-Employment Training Program are: Tracy Barnes, Justin Bashaw, Janette Einspahr, Zack Enyart, Doug Frank, Jose Garza, Brian Harmon, Carl Harmon, Walter Hayes, Christopher Lee, Gary Lindberg, Cornelio Maltos, Rick Morgan, Jimmy Nelson, Patti Ogle, Melissa Palmer, Winfield Smiley, Vicki Speed, Robert Wright and Jacob Wurl.
MOSES LAKE — Within a week of graduation, some graduates from the area’s first Pre-Employment Training Program already have job interviews with prospective employers in manufacturing.
The program’s first class of 20 students got started finding work last week when they networked with employers at the graduation ceremony, said program coordinator Rebecca Waller at the Grant County Economic Development Council’s (EDC) spring luncheon Thursday.
One cannot put a dollar amount on the networking opportunities, she explained.
“We had a lot of very committed folks,” she said of the graduates.
Their ages ranged from 19 to about 60.
One graduate had a GED and another student already earned a master’s degree.
The program’s second class will start on May 18 and was created to help employers fulfill a need for adequately trained entry-level employees.
The skills taught during the six-week course include safety, teamwork, computer technology, communications, general food manufacturing, quality and continuous improvement, applied math, personal development and first aid/CPR certification.
Students also receive tours of the employers’ work sites.
Student feedback about the program was very positive and they had a huge sense of accomplishment.
She described the group as “cohesive” and “tight-knit.”
The consortium of participating employers discovered they could put together a training program that delivers the skills they want for an affordable fee.
Some of the businesses are considered competitors, but came around the table and worked together.
It’s possible for other sectors to participate in the program and adapt it to fit other needs.
The businesses, teaching the first class, started with basic skills and used a self-funding model in which industry instructors worked for free.
Employers found the program valuable because they avoid bad hires by observing potential employees for four hours in a classroom setting.
“We expect to see this catch fire,” she commented.
The businesses declined a $100,000 state grant to fund the program because they were dedicated to doing it on their own and didn’t want to be dependent on grant money, said Terry Brewer, the EDC’s executive director.
The state saw the program as a unique and one they could replicate.
The employers and stakeholders will be willing to share the program once it’s fine-tuned.
The partnering businesses and other organizations are Big Bend, Grant County EDC, WorkSource Central Basin Partners (Employment Security, SkillSource and OIC), McCain Foods, Laserfab, JR Simplot (Moses Lake and Othello), Lamb Weston/BSW, Quincy Foods, SVZ-USA, Columbia Colstor, Basic American Foods, REC Silicon and Genie Industries.
Pay scales for the different jobs vary from $8.55 per hour to $17.33 per hour, depending on the employer and the position.
For more information about the program, contact Waller at 509-793-2423 or rebeccaw@bigbend.edu.