Displaced workers getting in-the-field construction training through Riverland

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 17, 2002

HAYWARD – Just outside of Hayward, across Interstate 90, a group of 19 men is hard at work moving dirt around.

Thursday, January 17, 2002

HAYWARD – Just outside of Hayward, across Interstate 90, a group of 19 men is hard at work moving dirt around. They have been digging, piling, scraping, and dumping since Monday, but they’re not involved in building any kind of structure. They’re building better lives for themselves.

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The men are former Farmland workers involved in a training program that is teaching them how to operate heavy equipment. The class started last week with classroom instruction and orientation at Riverland Community College’s Albert Lea campus. This week they moved into the field and into equipment supplied by Freeborn Construction.

&uot;I’m getting a lot of knowledge with the class,&uot; said Don Brandt, a 10-year veteran of the meat processing plant who was learning how to use a backhoe. He had some experience with this sort of work from 10 years he spent in the Navy, but he’s learning more now, he said.

Students rotate in groups of three from machine to machine, in the company of one instructor. They take turns operating each machine for half-hour spells. While they watch the other students, they pay attention to how each other completes tasks.

&uot;We learn both by doing and by watching,&uot; said Ron Bryan, a former Farmland employee with a total of 17 years of experience at the plant.

Students in the program seem enthusiastic about what they’re doing, said Brad Haugen, co-owner of Freeborn Construction. Haugen said that since he has been involved with the training Monday, nobody has missed a day.

&uot;They have a good work ethic. It makes it easier for us when they want to learn,&uot; he said.

Prospects for employment after the class is over are good, according to students and teachers in the program.

&uot;Looking back at last season, we had a hard time finding any workers, skilled or unskilled. The economy has changed since then, but if things are similar to last year, they will find plenty of work,&uot; said Steve Lundell, site supervisor for the class.

The program is the brainchild of Brian Vairma, a former Farmland worker himself, who now coordinates an on-the-job training program for displaced workers for Workforce Development, Inc. It was time to find other ways to make a living for workers who have been waiting for news about the plant, said Vairma.

The heavy construction class is the only one of its kind in southern Minnesota, and the location of the only other program in the area is one reason Vairma pursued starting a program here. The closest similar program is in Wisconsin. A second class begins in February, and for that class, a translator will be available.

Freeborn Construction was the only local firm that responded to Vairma’s original request for local businesses to help set up on-the-job training programs. According to Haugen, they saw the heavy construction as both a challenge and an opportunity.

&uot;We’ve always enjoyed challenges, and the school is one,&uot; he said.

The opportunity lies in the ability of Freeborn to provide something for its own workers during what is normally a slow season for construction work. Customers always come first, but so far he’s been able to keep up with all of the ongoing work they are supposed to be doing, Haugen said.