FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 25, 2002

SEDCOR announces that twelve Mid-Willamette Valley food-processing companies have agreed to combine their resources to address the training needs of their employees. With a $57,500 matching grant from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, these companies plan to implement the Food Processors Industry Training Project and match the grant with a 2.5:1 ratio. Theresa Olds, Office Administrator at Trans Ocean Products, states: “We believe we will be able to increase the basic skills of the majority of our entire workforce, thus improving their chances of promotion within our organization. We hope that the skills learned under this program will benefit them throughout their careers.”

The project includes courses in computer basics; language; supervision; and reading, math, and writing for food processing applications to address workforce skills gaps, positively impacting industry productivity. James A. Logerquist, Director of Human Resources Western Region, Chiquita Processed Foods, LLC, explains: “It became apparent that a common goal existed--to improve the basic language, math, computer and supervisory skills of the employees working in the food processing industry. I believe the training needs of our workforce are a fair representation of the needs of other employers in like industries in this geographical area.” It is anticipated that as many as 250 employees will participate in the up to 400 hours of classes between November 2002 and April 2003.

To date, the participating companies include: Chiquita Processed Foods, Diane’s Foods, Eola Cherry Company, Kettle Foods, Truitt Brothers, Trans-Ocean Products, Quest International, RainSweet, Oregon Fruit Products, Oregon Cherry Growers, Smuckers, and Truitt Brothers.

According to Ron Hulett, Director of Chemeketa’s Training and Economic Development (TED) Center, “Customized training will be provided on-site at the companies. TED Center staff has created shortened, intensive training modules that can be delivered in four-week blocks and between workers shifts. The training will be delivered at no charge to the employees.”

Ray Clore, Retention/Expansion Manager of SEDCOR and Tom Fox, Regional Development Officer of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department initiated the project. Clore and Fox became concerned due to media reports about a decline in food processing activities. They subsequently met with Mid-Willamette Valley food processing companies and determined that many were planning to expand production or enter into new value added product lines. The companies identified workforce skills as a barrier to meeting these goals. Clore and Fox asked Agnes Balassa, Director of the Enterprise for Employment and Education, the region’s Workforce Investment Board, to convene the food processors in February 2002 to address the problem.

After several months of planning, twelve of the companies developed the Food Processor Industry Training Project. Balassa comments: “The role of a Workforce Investment Board is to find avenues to continually upgrade the skills of the workforce in the local community. Closures of two large food-processing plants, Agrifrozen and PictSweet, left hundreds of workers with minimal skills unable to compete for other jobs. We are thrilled to see this group of food processors coming together to invest in the skills of their workers. This is a win-win for the companies and the employees.” Ted Maldonado, NW Personnel Manager, J.M. Smucker Company, adds, “The key to developing this project was building the partnership among various governmental and educational agencies and local businesses. We believe that combining all of our resources will allow this project to succeed.”

For more information contact: Agnes Balassa, Enterprise for Employment and Education (503) 399-2358, or Ron Hulett, TED Center (503) 316-3229.