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Grant enables cross-training Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Steve Vaughn is in his fifth month working for Batzer Construction, commuting over an hour each way from Azalea to Medford. Here Vaughn works on a Batzer work site at West Coast Paper on Avian Road. Batzer joins forces with schools to implement instruction By SHARI DOWNHILL Batzer Construction of Medford was awarded a grant by the Oregon Workforce Investment Board to bolster an employee cross-training program and to recruit and educate a new generation of construction workers. Batzer was awarded the $111,942 state grant based on its proposal submitted in November � one of 19 funded out 37 submitted in the latest round of grant requests. As part of the OWIB grant, Batzer will join forces with Rogue Community College and the Medford School District. The company will also begin recruiting field workers from the Hispanic community and provide an on-the-job ESL (English as a second language) course specific to the construction industry. Applications must be in this month Applications for the final round of the Oregon Workforce Investment Board work force development grants must be submitted by March 26. About $1.5 million is available for eligible projects. The agency had received only one application as of Wednesday. Eligibility requirements and further information on the grant program and application process are available at www.odccwd.state.or.us on the Web. Select the Oregon Workforce system and application information is listed under "Round Three RFP" (request for proposals). Job Council Rogue Valley Workforce Development Council coordinator Dennis Alexander said the council endorsed five current work-force skills development projects sent to the OWIB, four of which were funded. "That says a lot for the quality and preparation of these projects," Alexander said. "Batzer�s project will provide the opportunity of establishing an excellent model for the construction industry." The Batzer grant was part of $3.7 million the Oregon Workforce Investment Board set aside for current work-force development grants, said Sue Nebrija of the Department of Community College and Workforce Development. The Department of Labor funded the grants. The final round of the pilot grant program is open to applicants until March 26. Batzer will use the one-time grant money to operate the Batzer Skills Program through its first year, said company president Russ Batzer. "We don�t feel this is Batzer�s money," Batzer said. "It�s our employee�s money. It gives them the opportunity to explore training in leadership and diversity ... and includes an element of ESL." Founded in 1955 by Jack Batzer, Batzer Inc. established itself as a designer/builder in 1988. The company operates in the Pacific Northwest and California with a staff of about 100 employees. Batzer, company field superintendents, project managers and outside consultants created the Skills Program last year with the support of Batzer�s father, Jack, and his four brothers who help run it. The Batzer Skills Program cross-trains employees to expand their skills, increase their value to the construction industry and get better pay. With an aging construction work force and fewer younger workers entering the trade, Batzer said the company�s management realized the entire construction industry would soon face a shortage of skilled employees. "We needed a way to attract younger workers into our industry, to explain to them that construction is a career move," Batzer said. Ralph Henderson, department head of RCC�s construction technology program said Batzer�s training program will benefit Southern Oregon�s construction industry. "Construction is a high-tech industry," Henderson said. "We have a problem with people associating it with low skills. Any program that is taking folks and training them in the construction industry is a benefit to the whole industry." RCC has worked closely with Batzer to develop the construction company�s training methods and programs, Henderson added. Batzer�s grant award will be overseen by communications consultant Amy Schnapper, who helped the company produce its 53-page skills manual. Reach reporter Shari Downhill at 776-4463, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.