Cultivating Talent: A Paradigm Shift in Professional Development at Oregon Tool

Paolo Bicca da Silva, Human Resources Director, Oregon Tool

Paolo Bicca da Silva, Human Resources Director, Oregon Tool

Oregon Tool

Oregon Tool designs, manufactures, and markets replacement parts and equipment for consumers and professionals in select global end markets. We have three different divisions in Oregon Tool: Forestry, Lawn, and Garden (FLAG); Farm, Ranch, and Agriculture (FRAG); and Concrete Cutting and Finishing (CCF).

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, US with manufacturing locations, distribution centers, and sales offices all across the world.

This article is related to a program in Oregon Tool in Brazil with the potential to be applied in other Latin American countries.

The segment

Throughout the world, there is a wide range of business segments of different sizes, attractiveness and prominence, either because of what they represent in certain regions or countries (or the whole world), or because of the protagonism they are given in different times. These highlights vary and are impacted by the preferences and needs of the market, people’s focus, the media, and influencers, among other factors. This impacts the job market hugely, making it easier to attract professionals to those segments that have more relevance to the detriment of others.

Currently, the segments that involve greater physical strength, more strenuous work, that require physical presence, and that are far from more attractive urbanized areas, have faced many challenges to maintain interest and compete for talents in the labor market on equal terms.

Such factors have brought about additional difficulties to companies operating within these segments, as evidenced by news and statistics, which report the challenge of identifying and counting on workers for jobs.

The shortage of specialized technical labor is to be noted as it has declined globally, with a strong impact not only on developed economies but also on economies of emerging countries, which even before being mature already face this lack.

Operating in the forestry and landscape segment (Figure 1), which is a fraction of the agricultural segment (recognized as one of the regional economic engines), highly dependent on labor that performs activities since the areas of plantation, forest management and harvesting to industries, distribution centers, technical assistance and resellers, as well as conservation in cities, gardening and landscaping, we realize this challenge remains in a great part of our chain. Additionally, the lack of professional training for the segment increases the challenges.

"Through the theoretical and practical classes, it is possible to validate and confirm, for the participant as well as for the partner companies, the affinity and future of the participant as a potential worker"

For most of these businesses (usually micro, small or medium-sized), there is a need for specialized labor, but there is not a large number of vacancies. This creates financial obstacles to scaling up development investment alone.

With the understanding of this need in mind, seeking to respond to it and entertaining the idea that people’s skills can be translated into great results at work, for employees and companies, also contributing to regional development, we seek to apply a new approach to the professional development of this segment.

We do this by looking at our production chain as a whole, in order to identify which professions are related to it and how we could contribute to the identification of people who have shown interest, willingness, skills and behaviors related to it.

Responding to this demand, we have designed a professional development program, which is open to the community, named Training of Operators for Industry and Services of Forestry, Lawn and Garden, paving the way for the beginning of building a career in this area.

We initially drew up a program design based on our experiences in training and developing people. At the same time, we went out to talk to other companies linked to the segment in our region, and also institutions related to education for work, establishing partnerships. In this way, the program represents a unique opportunity for partners, as businesses of different sizes can benefit from it with very low investment. In addition to that, the community where they are operating is also benefited, given that it generates potential for a very positive socioeconomic effect.

The Program

In this program, we have introduced a plan that involves three main elements for the identification, development and placement of professionals, from those interested in participating in it (Figure 2):

1. Assessment of basic knowledge and reasoning

2. Assessment of skills and behavior

3. Theoretical and practical training

Once these steps are covered, the program participants will be able to join a company in the segment. Even during the program, they will already have this possibility, but with certification, there is more visibility and confirmation.

Allow me to tell you a little more about the steps of the model:

1. Assessment of Basic Knowledge and Reasoning: This stage evaluates elements related to language and mathematics knowledge and reasoning skills, identified according to the demand of the segment.

2. Skills and Behavior Assessment: This stage evaluates the skills that the person has in relation to the profile demands mapped for the segment, as well as evaluates their behavioral profile. This step is of fundamental importance because it allows the participant to know more about the segment and test their affinities with it, as well as for companies to know that the participants already have this identification.

3. Theoretical and Practical Training: The classes were divided into two fronts- theoretical classes and practical classes:

a. Theoretical Classes: Cover the demands of knowledge of business management, the practices in the segment and the products used.

b. Practical Classes: Aims to allow participants to learn about products and equipment in practical contact.

Through the theoretical and practical classes, it is possible to validate and confirm, for the participant as well as for the partner companies, the affinity and future of the participant as a potential worker.

The Results

The initial experience showed the great potential and positive effect of the approach, which mixes people’s interest and motivation in working in the segment.

Through companies and partners (volunteers from the companies that joined the program), we were able to monitor the growth of the participants, in addition to their placement in the job market.

The training allowed for a faster integration process besides accelerating their learning curve when they started their work, as they already brought motivation, complemented by knowledge, generating a great acceleration.

Learning and Continuous Improvement

Holding the program and ensuring its continuity have allowed us to reflect on the successes and opportunities for improvement so that it evolves continuously in order to offer good solutions to participants and partners.

Through this process, we learned that our chain, which is a long one, involves a wide variation of needs and skills, especially in the formal part of education and the complexity of knowledge to perform work activities. This led us to work on the revision of some concepts for new classes, revealing the need for more partners and differentiation according to the activity that will be carried out, which will in turn bring the potential for expansion of the program to more regions.