Business
GREG
SMITH
BUSINESS BANTER
Finding
people
who want
to work
I
t seems that everywhere we
go there are “Help Wanted”
signs. Worse yet are those
fl yers hung in the window
that say, “We’ve had to reduce
our hours because we are
short-staff ed.”
What’s going on?
There are a variety of answers,
but perhaps a more pertinent
question is, “Where can I fi nd
people who want to work?”
Of course, there are the tradi-
tional means like posting a job
with the Employment Department
or utilizing online platforms such
as Indeed, but employers may
want to take a closer look at their
neighborhood community col-
leges, universities, and yes, even
high schools to fi ll vacancies.
There are often stereo-
types about this group of people
regarding their perceived work
ethic, diffi culty with attendance,
keeping them off their cellphones,
etc. However, several employers
have successfully utilized the
skills of many college and high
school students and have found
them to be excellent employees.
Yes, there is a learning curve
(for both the employer and
employee) and time will need to
be spent outlining expectations
and perhaps teaching or rein-
forcing basic soft skills which, for
whatever reason, are not always
taught to students. But hiring any
employee is an investment and
Generation Z has important skill
sets which can be benefi cial to a
company.
First, interns or recent grad-
uates can bring energy and cre-
ative problem-solving techniques
to your team. Certainly, their
in-depth knowledge of technology
is something nearly every com-
pany can benefi t from. Perhaps
most importantly, they can pro-
vide necessary insight into what
young consumers are looking for
and how they think.
The oldest of Generation Z
is 25. According to an article in
Business Insider, “Gen Z cur-
rently earns $7 trillion across
its 2.5 billion-person cohort. By
2025, that income will grow to
$17 trillion, and by 2030, it will
reach $33 trillion, representing
27% of the world’s income and
surpassing that of millennials (the
oldest of whom are now 40) the
following year.”
In short, they’ve got a lot of
money to spend and knowing
what they want no doubt can help
a business’s bottom line.
Here is some interesting infor-
mation about those in Generation
Z shared in the same article from
Business Insider:
According to a recent study,
money isn’t the single most
important way to attract them.
They are interested in opportuni-
ties to advance. Valuable career
experiences and even unpaid
internships so they can build on
their career can defi nitely pique
their interest. Taking the time to
mentor them and off ering things
like employee health and well-
ness programs as a reward for
their dedication are important.
They are seeking opportunities
for growth.
While millennials thrive in
teams and love collaboration, Gen
Z’ers work more autonomously.
They grew up with technology
and know how to access informa-
tion quickly and because of this,
they do not like to waste time.
They are used to having informa-
tion at their fi ngertips and for this
reason, they may be found (and
prefer) working at odd times.
They are highly effi cient at
multi-tasking.
Big projects are something
they like to be a part of.
See, Work/Page 3B
AgLife
1B
Thursday, June 10, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
BUILDING
CAREER
PATHWAYS
A partially built home constructed by True Construction sits at 1207
25th St. in La Grande on Monday, June 7, 2021. La Grande High School
will begin off ering a new class on home construction and building this
fall, as a part of its manufacturing pathway aimed toward getting stu-
dents acquainted with trade-related jobs for careers after graduation.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
LHS construction class sets sights on building homes
to continue growing and adding another
layer to those opportunities for kids,”
A GRANDE — La Grande
Assistant Principal Eric Freeman said.
High School is set to off er a
The school district altered the manufac-
construction/career and tech-
turing pathway that it off ers to compen-
nical education class this
sate for a pathway centered more on
coming fall. The end goal
home building. The manufacturing
of the program is to con-
pathway focuses more around wood-
struct a home in the La
working and welding.
Grande area within the
Darren Hendrickson takes the
next few years.
lead as the full-time construction
The class will off er students the
teacher for the new program. Hen-
Freeman
opportunity to learn the many facets
drickson has worked as a fi fth-grade
that go into home building as they
teacher at Island City Elementary,
work with licensed subcontractors. With
and the district has contracted with him
the addition of the construction pathway,
in the past to do construction on various
La Grande High School will now off er
facilities.
nine diff erent pathway programs.
“Just the way that he works with kids,
“This is just another component for us
I think he’s going to bring some real
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
L
organization and ownership to this posi-
tion,” Freeman said. “He’s one of the
most talented men in terms of what he
brings as far as knowledge in the fi eld of
construction.”
Hendrickson has previously worked
on projects creating shelving and other
maintenance improvements to the school
district.
Home building
Hendrickson and the school district are
planning to secure land in La Grande for
the program with potential space for up to
two homes. While the program starts in
the fall, the actual home building likely
takes place several years from now.
Commissioners still concerned over drought
Irrigation district
chief not so much
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — As Wal-
lowa County moves into
warmer weather, the out-
look for the drought declara-
tion the county commissioners
approved May 21 isn’t getting
any brighter.
Commissioner Todd Nash
said the county has a “D1”
drought designation, which is
not nearly as severe as some
neighboring counties.
“In Union and Baker coun-
ties, they’ve tripped into D3
in one little portion of their
counties in the southern por-
tion. They’re already there,” he
said. “The north end of Wal-
lowa County did not get those
last rains that we got. Most
of the county got nine-tenths
to 2 inches and the north end
got about a tenth and they’re
extremely dry. We’re looking
at what the next weeks in the
Drought Monitor might show.”
The U.S. Drought Monitor
daily updates the drought out-
look for regions all over the
country.
See, Homes/Page 3B
COVID-19
Workplaces may
soon relax COVID
safety measures
OSHA plans to relax
the state’s COVID-19
workplace rules
By ERIN ROSS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
have been through their pas-
tures one time. Now we’re get-
ting to a point where it doesn’t
grow back anymore,” he said.
“I was just talking to a guy
from Wallowa and some of
Wallowa didn’t get those rains.
Now he’s going out to the
Divide country and it’s been
so cold up there he’s still got
snow. He said there isn’t any
feed.”
SALEM — Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown announced plans on
Friday, June 4, to lift mask man-
dates and physical distancing
requirements in most settings
once 70% of adults in Oregon
have received their fi rst dose of a
COVID-19 vaccine. She and her
advisers have said they expect that
to happen by June 21.
Since the initial lockdown
in 2020, many workplaces have
remained closed or operated with
limited staffi ng. Others have
changed workplace practices to
accommodate Oregon OSHA’s
ever-shifting COVID-19 guid-
ance. And others have chosen
See, Drought/Page 3B
See, COVID-19/Page 3B
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Lake is less than 5 feet from fi lling to its maximum level, said Dan
Butterfi eld, president of the Wallowa Lake Irrigation District, on Wednes-
day, June 2, 2021. The district owns the dam, which Butterfi eld said should
show the lake is full by July 1.
Nash said a 90-person
board reads the Drought Mon-
itor weekly and rotates its
members “so there’s a fresh set
of eyes on it.”
But, he said, online maps
don’t always tell the whole
story on the ground.
“One of the things in
our conversations with (the
USDA’s Farm Service Agency)
is they’re not equating all the
cold nights we’ve had for grass
growth. A lot of these guys