MIAMI HERALD
November 20, 2005
JOB TRAINING
Going from the fields to the office
A South Miami-Dade job training program helps seasonal and migrant workers learn office and construction trades to better their lives.
Growing up, SanJuanita Cruz toiled with her parents in South Miami-Dade County fields, cleaning plants and packing green beans. At 16, she dropped out of Homestead Senior High. She got married and helped her husband raise his two children.
Cruz had no healthcare and a troublesome back from her long hours in the fields.
In 2003, tired of paltry jobs with poor pay, Cruz went to Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, Inc., a rural development agency near Florida City, to ``learn something new.''
''I know how hard it is coming from the fields,'' Cruz, 25, said. ``I couldn't do it anymore.''
She enrolled in the nonprofit organization's JobsPlus training program, which trains field workers in office skills so they can get better jobs.
Recently, Centro Campesino honored Cruz and about 10 other JobsPlus participants who made the transition from field worker to better jobs -- with benefits -- in offices.
At the sprawling Centro Campesino site, JobsPlus graduates like Cruz told their stories of self-development and career advancement.
In 2004, Cruz became an assistant at the Centro Campesino center and has worked her way up to the title of ''housing counselor,'' advising others on home buying.
While in the JobsPlus program, Cruz went from typing 18 words per minute to 55 words per minute. Using Microsoft's Outlook and PowerPoint are as easy for her as tying her shoes now.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the ''Si Se Puede'' (Yes I Can) campaign, which enrolls members of the farm worker community in the JobsPlus program.
Centro Campesino is a rural community development organization that assists seasonal and migrant workers. Centro Campesino runs affordable housing, job training and youth leadership programs.
JobsPlus enrollees receive clerical and construction training.
Those enrolled in the program may earn a GED through a partnership with Miami Dade College and earn up to $400 biweekly while enrolled.
''Our JobsPlus trainees are getting an opportunity to practice new skills that make them employable in other settings,'' said Steve Mainster, executive director of Centro Campesino.
Field work is especially grueling, leaders at Centro Campesino said. The hours are long, health insurance is not available and the pay is substandard. Field workers may make only 20 cents per bucket when harvesting.
Half of all farmworkers earn less than $7,500 a year, and half of all farmworker families earn less than $10,000 per year. In 2002, the poverty level for a family of four was $18,100.
Over the next few years, with the impact of globalization, farm work and the jobs that go with it will dry up, Centro Campesino officials said. And urban encroachment is making farmland scarce in South Florida.
''Our goal is to help people make a smooth transition from one lifestyle to another,'' said Kristin Pongé, program coordinator for JobsPlus. ``We want to encourage individuals who are interested to take advantage of the training, as well as our English tutoring services and life skill seminars.''
Liliana Angarita, 38, recently graduated from the JobsPlus program. The Colombian woman moved to the United States in 2003. She stayed with family members in a two-bedroom home in Kendall.
To make ends meet, she worked in a Northwest Miami-Dade packing house from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., sometimes later, sometimes on Saturdays. Angarita also worked at a Homestead nursery. Finally, this year, she learned about the JobsPlus program from her neighbor and enrolled.
She learned how to use a fax machine, Microsoft PowerPoint and a copier. For Angarita, who worked as a community activist and teacher in Colombia, learning office work was a pleasure. In Colombia, Angarita used a typewriter, never a computer.
Angarita now works as an administrative assistant for a nonprofit organization, making $7 an hour. She has healthcare benefits, which she never had while working in a nursery.
''I love learning,'' said Angarita, who is also learning English. ``Here, there are a lot of opportunities, you just have to take advantage of them.''