Document text
Hispanic supervisors get help at Bear Creek Dozens get classes in communication and computer skills By SHARI DOWNHILL A pilot program co-sponsored by Bear Creek Corp. and Rogue Community College has given about 35 Hispanic orchard supervisors the opportunity to improve basic work skills, improve their English and learn to navigate the world of computers. The program was funded in part by a grant from the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development with financial support from the federal Department of Labor. Bear Creek matched the $38,000 grant and worked closely with RCC to develop the intensive, 10-week course curriculum. Lessons in English usage, writing, interpersonal communication and math were designed using industry-specific horticultural information, said Annika Forester, Bear Creek�s training specialist. "It�s called leveraged learning," Forester said. "We�ve found they learn a lot more effectively if the material is relevant to their life." Bear Creek began offering English as a Second Language to its Hispanic workers in 1996. The company has done business for 66 years, with sales reaching nearly $500 million in 2000. Orchard supervisors were targeted for the training program because of the need for them to move up the organizational ladder, Forester said. "These guys are professionals and experts at what they do," she added. "By providing the educational opportunity, it just gives them the extra knowledge necessary (to grow). Bear Creek wouldn�t survive without that knowledge. This extends ... their expertise and builds on it with technology using horticultural principals." Isidro Lopez, 43, is a key field supervisor for Bear Creek�s Rainbow Orchard, where the pear trees are in full bloom. Lopez came from Mexico to work in Oregon, and went to work for Bear Creek in 1977 at the urging of his brother. While Lopez learned the ropes of orchard work, he also worked on his English. His communication improved as he interacted with other workers, he said. Still, it took classes in writing, vocabulary and punctuation to better express what he wanted to say. And while instructors and company officials agree workers participating in the classes have acquired valuable communication skills, they also expect the skills to cross over into tasks like interpreting weather information, logging time sheets via computer, and chemical preparation and application. "I felt like I was 15 or 16 years old again," Lopez said of the training. "I was trying to pick up some of the things I had forgotten. But they came back." His biggest challenge was math and computers. "I�ve always had trouble with math, even back in Mexico," he said. During a graduation ceremony Tuesday night at Bear Creek�s corporate conference center, Lopez received a special award for the most-improved student in math. Bear Creek orchard managers Scott Cully and Keith Emerson, both veteran fruit growers, said they needed the expertise of Forester and RCC curriculum designers to make the program work. "This training really makes these people sought-after now," Emerson said. "During this, we learned a lot about their needs." "In a normal farm operation, this wouldn�t be required of the staff," Cully added. "But this isn�t a normal farm. I�m proud to work for a company that would actually pay these guys to go through this training." The program was a success for RCC as well, said Nancy Vaughn, RCC�s director of adult basic education for Jackson County. "This grant gave us a chance to closely coordinate development of the program with Bear Creek more fully than ever before," Vaughn said. Workers will now undergo post-testing to find out how much they�ve improved their skills, Forester said. Lopez doesn�t need tests to tell whether the classes helped. He has seen a significant change in his own self-confidence and self-esteem, as well that of his peers. "It happens to us in different degrees," he said. "Many of us were glad to have had this opportunity." 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.