A new heavy construction training program for dislocated workers from Farmland will be held in Albert Lea in January.

Sunday, December 30, 2001

A new heavy construction training program for dislocated workers from Farmland will be held in Albert Lea in January. It is being set up by Minnesota Workforce Inc., with the cooperation of Riverland Community College and Freeborn Construction. The purpose of the program is to provide another option for retraining former Farmland employees who have been out of steady work since the plant burned.

Final sign up and orientation for the class is Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 9 a.m. at the Workforce Center in Skyline Mall.

Up to this point, the only option for providing training in heavy construction for dislocated workers in Freeborn County was to send them to a program in Wisconsin, said Brian Vairma, a peer counselor at the Minnesota Workforce Center in Albert Lea. And that wasn’t practical for most of the people who need to make use of the program here. They aren’t earning any income and wouldn’t be able to afford the housing and other expenses associated with training at the course in Wisconsin, he said.

&uot;I tried to see about setting up a course like they have there, to get these people a new skill and back into the work force,&uot; said Vairma. Traditional college and community college programs aren’t appropriate because they take too long. The people involved with this program need to quickly learn new skills and get back to work fast, he said.

There is grant money available from the state to use for this retraining, funding provided after the fire and the plant closing. But the main problem was trying to find a business willing to provide the instruction. And that’s where Freeborn Construction came into it.

&uot;They were willing to provide the instructors and the equipment,&uot; Vairma said.

Brad Haugen, of Freeborn Construction, is even looking forward to his company’s involvement with the course.

&uot;It’s nice to see state funds paying for hands-on training,&uot; said Haugen. A program like this also helps the construction industry get involved in the training of new workers, he added.

After Freeborn Construction was on board, Vairma went to Riverland and worked out a way for Riverland to take over administration of the program, provide classrooms and audiovisual equipment, and then provide a certificate to all the participants who make it through the training successfully.

One reason for asking Riverland to get involved is that a certificate from Riverland will probably mean more to employers down the road, said Vairma.

The course will run over four weeks, with both classroom instruction at Riverland’s Albert Lea campus and hands-on instruction at various locations in the area. The first classes begin in January, with graduation set for Feb 1, 2002. Currently, enrollment is limited to 20 participants. Plans are to run a second class in February, and after that to see how much need there is for additional classes.

This is the only program of its kind currently available in Minnesota, so in time there may be interest from other parts of the state, said Vairma.

As part of the class, participants will be learning how to operate a variety of heavy equipment, from dump trucks to front loaders to bulldozers. One of the first lessons will be in workplace and heavy equipment safety. Other lessons will include construction &uot;jargon&uot; and methods, and the use of specialized tools like laser levels. According to Haugen, the plan is for the bulk of class time to be spent in small groups actually working with the equipment on location.

The grant money provides an administration fee to Riverland, tuition money for each participant and even a voucher to help pay for any personal equipment and specialized work clothing that is needed.

Anyone wanting more information about the class should contact Vairma at the Workforce Center by calling 379-3409.

&uot;The way I see it, the whole community benefits. We put the grant money into local agencies and businesses and the people involved get their training here at home,&uot; said Vairma.