business backgrounder | education & workforce
State University, Garcia was one of very few fieldmen — orchard foremen — in those days with sufficient mastery of both English
and Spanish to discuss detailed orchard techniques and practices with the field worker and grower.
“They didn’t know what to do with an educated Mexican in those days,” jokes Garcia, who is originally from an apple-growing
family in the mountainous state of Hidalgo, 100 miles northeast of Mexico City.
Other fieldmen often turned to him to explain to the supervisors in Spanish why they wanted to prune or do other tasks a certain
way. He approached WVC about starting a program to teach applied English and technical skills to field workers. College officials
liked the idea.
There’s a lot to learn. The region’s world-class orchards employ high-yield techniques, many fruit varieties and smaller, trellised
trees that produce more and better fruit faster, require fewer chemical sprays and use drip irrigation for lower water use.
The students spend one day a week from mid-October to mid-March learning basic and advanced horticulture, including the
most efficient techniques to
keep the orchards or vineyards
thriving. An advanced class in
pest management happens from
April to mid August — when
insect pests and diseases are
present in the orchard.
Coursework includes applied
math — useful for calculating
yields or spray applications per
acre — and ag-focused English
— Leo Garcia, lead faculty for
to communicate with their
Wenatchee Valley College’s tree fruit
bosses who speak it, and the
and viticulture workforce education
field workers who often don’t.
programs
Students learn to calculate
costs, plant “virtual orchards”
and pitch their business plans to their instructor who, acting as “banker,” weighs
whether the plan would qualify for a loan.
Some 1,300 students have completed the certificate program over the last 21 years,
which takes place in communities throughout Central Washington. Applicants are
recommended by their employers, who usually pick up the $1,600 tuition tab and
agree to continue to pay the employee on class days.
The orchard-employee program is not for college credit, but students who complete the program can enroll at the college and get
credit toward a two-year associate degree in tree fruit-specific horticulture. They can then move on to Washington State University
to complete a four-year degree.
“We return a more knowledgeable employee to the workforce, and the growers really value that,” Garcia said. “Many times, they
see opportunities to do things better. They take more ownership of their jobs. They begin to understand what it’s like to run a
business, that you don’t have a magic bag full of money. They are more careful with equipment. They communicate better, and this
reduces mistakes and improves accuracy all around.”
He added, “It’s fun. You work with adults who know what they want. These people are very dedicated.”
“This course is designed to
develop people into supervisors
and managers. We train them
in the basics of horticulture
and viticulture. Many of them
know the ‘how.’ We teach
them the ‘why.’”
learning indoors
Now into the third level of Wenatchee Valley College’s Hispanic Orchard Employee Education Program, students gathered earlier this
year in an improvised classroom at Quincy Community Health Center to study and discuss orchard pests with instructor Francisco
Sarmiento.
Successful students can become pest-management specialists,
trained to monitor fruit trees for signs of pest damage and respond
using the appropriate control.
“Most mites are pests,” Sarmiento told the group, as they examined
cherry tree leaves for the tiny mites which are only visible when
scrutinized through small, hand-held magnifiers. A tiny worm, called
— Jose Rodríguez, a 40-year-old Royal City orchard worker
“When you’re young, hard work seems easy,
but over the years your productivity declines
and you have to develop other abilities.”
38 association of washington business