National Skills Summit

National Skills Summit
Innovative Initiatives: Targeted Populations

Rural Employment Opportunities, Inc. (REO) Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Training Program

The Challenge:

To help migrant and seasonal farm workers in Montana obtain the skills they need to achieve economic self-sufficiency in year-round non-agricultural employment.

The Solution:

Identify the specific needs of former farmworkers, and develop with each worker an individually-tailored training and employment plan.

The Partners:

Rural Employment Opportunities, Inc. (REO) is a private non-profit organization that provides job training to migrant and seasonal farm workers throughout Montana.

U.S. Department of Labor National Farmworker Jobs Program provides funding under the Workforce Investment Act to train migrant and seasonal farmworker adults and youth.

Montana Career Center System is Montana's one-stop system for employment and training, of which REO is an integral partner.

Montana Migrant Education Program collaborates with REO to provide training services to workers in rural areas.

The Story:

The year Steve Gjerde first came to Rural Employment Opportunities, Inc. seeking training services, he had received an annual income of only $4,928. After laboring for 15 years in grain and livestock production, Steve found he could not support himself as a seasonal farmworker. He met with a vocational counselor at one of REO's three satellite sites to explore his aptitudes, interests, skills, and barriers to employment. Together, Steve and his counselor formulated a new employment goal: a career in law enforcement. To help Steve achieve this goal, REO staff worked with him to increase his computer literacy skills. He enrolled in the University of Great Falls and was assisted by REO with an hourly stipend to help pay for his cost of living while in school. Steve traveled 70 miles per day to classes and graduated with honors with a degree in criminal justice. He found full time employment as a detention officer at a beginning wage of $17,680 per year, and is now earning $26,270 per year as a supervisor.

Each summer, thousands of migrant farmworkers travel from Texas and Washington to work in Montana's beet fields. Other farmworkers like Steve live year-round in Montana and work primarily in livestock and grain production. Working long hours, these farmworkers earn less than $7,500 per year and have no benefits. The workers and their families often lack education and suffer from poor nutrition and health problems related to pesticides used in the fields. Rural Employment Opportunities, Inc., offers these workers free services to help them gain additional skills to get better jobs.

REO helps farmworkers explore their aptitudes and interests, learn about different occupations, formulate an employment plan, select a training program, obtain funding for school, and secure a job. They assist workers in selecting and paying for an appropriate classroom training program in a variety of in-demand occupations, from computer technology to truck driving. Rather than charge for such services, REO pays trainees an allowance for each hour of classroom time. REO also helps with the cost of tuition, tools, work clothing, and other family needs. They work closely with businesses to develop on-the-job training positions and permanent jobs for program participants. REO reimburses employers up to 50 percent of a trainee's salary during the training period. REO also provides life-skills training to participants who face barriers in obtaining and keeping a good job.

In order to provide services to workers who cannot access the primary sites in Billings, Great Falls, and Helena, REO travels to rural communities. REO's Techmobile, a computerized mobile learning lab, travels across the entire state, bringing high-tech career education and computer-based learning resources to farm workers and their families. The Techmobile is a collaborative effort between REO and the Montana Migrant Education Program. Additionally, REO works with a network of other service providers and one-stop career centers throughout the state.

A Model of Innovation:

Advances in agricultural technology have contributed to ending a way of life for many rural families. REO ensures that these families can make the transition into the modern economy by connecting them with both educational opportunities and the financial support they need to pursue education and training full-time. From the initial contact to the final job placement, REO makes the transition process accessible to those who need it most.

Contacts:

Sharon Liederman
Rural Employment Opportunities, Inc.
P.O. Box 831
Helena, MT 59624
406-442-7850 (p)
406-442-7855 (f)
reo@mt.net www.mt.net/~reo