Internships

Some participants in the Arbor program who complete the pre-requisites and demonstrate positive habits and behaviors earn the opportunity to participate in internships. Internships are a great way to earn a little extra money (a stipend) and gain valuable work experience that could translate into a job.

There are currently about 15 Arbor progrtam participants in internships around Yamhill and Marion counties. Pictured at right is Devyne in his internship at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in McMinnville.

For more information about our programs and internships, call the location nearest you. The contact information is to the left side of the blog.

Entry-Level Credential - Woods

The Mid–Willamette Woods Consortium in partnership with the Enterprise for Employment and Education has created a process to identify, prepare and funnel entry-level employees into the secondary woods industry. In addition, iLearn Oregon and Tooling U have joined the effort to host on-line courses targeting entry-level workers needs. Funding has been provided through the Workforce Investment Act funding by the Enterprise for Employment and Education.


The ELC Woods program grew out of a similar Entry-Level Credential program first piloted by the Metal Consortium in August 2007. The curriculum and assessment tools were developed after identifying the critical competencies for the woods industry. The program is an intensive, short-term preparation for interviewing at entry-level employment in the woods industry.



The program is made up of three main components:

• On-line self study courses – Approximately 30 courses requiring 30-60 minutes each to
complete. Each have a mastery assessment, students may repeat a class and re-test up to five
times to improve their score.
• Hands-on exercises – Promote active learning and simulate actual on-the-job tasks, successful
completion of the task is required to demonstrate competency in that task.
• Soft skills component – Behavioral observations are recorded and points awarded across
specific soft-skills areas, points are considered into the learner’s overall rating.


At the end of the program a summary report is forwarded to potential employers who may wish to interview the learner for an available entry level position. Several participants at our Woodburn site are working through the ELC Woods course right now and will be tested for their competency on Monday April 19th. Pictured above are Juan, Carlos and Dylan completing one of the hands-on exercises.

Arbor Youth Internships

At each of our three locations there are a limited number of internships available to our participants who have completed the appropriate pre-requistes and have shown progress toward work readiness. Internships are an 8 week work experience opportunity in which the youth earn a weekly stipend for up to 30 hours of work at their assigned position. Internships are arranged at area businesses as well as within the Arbor offices. All three locations currently have Office Assistant interns helping at the receptionist position, keeping supplies organized and helping with special projects as they arise. Other current internships are at Willamette Educational Services District and Habitat for Humanity ReStore in McMinnville, Skylane Farms/Valley Fresh Foods in Woodburn and Select-Temp in Salem.

For more information about internships contact the Arbor location nearest you. Location information is on the left side of the blog.

The Youth

March Project CEO in McMinnville: (l to r)
Dominick (kneeling), Pierceon, Evan, Devyne, Alan, Work Readiness Specialist and Kevin.



March Project CEO in Woodburn: (l to r)
Taylor, Work Readiness Specialist, Javid, Joann, Anika, Jacob, Jared and Tomas, Work Readiness Specialist.

March CPR/First Aid class in McMinnville (l tor) Roeshaun, Debra and Instructor Laura.

Hard at work for February Project CEO in Woodburn: (l to r) Virginia, Marisela, Dylan and Guadelupe.

Thank you everyone for your hard work!

Woodburn and McMinnville Project CEO

Thank you to the business people in the communities for Woodburn and McMinnville who participate in our mock interviews!!

Friday March 19th in Woodburn we were very pleased to have the following people interview our Project CEO participants:

Scott Derickson,
City Administrator for the City of Woodburn

James Hendryx,
Community Development Director for the City of Woodburn

Harry Lee Kwai,
Marketing/Sales/PR Manager Gervais Telephone Co./DataVision Communications


In McMinnville this Friday March 26th mock interviews will be conducted for the Project CEO participants.

Thank you to:

Mike McNickle
Program Manager, Yamhill County Public Health

Dean Craig,
Branch Manager Salem Personnel Source


Thank you to these business people who have volunteered their time to make an important contribution to the success of our participants!!

You are appreciated!!

Project C.E.O.

Project C.EO. is the foundation of our work readiness training, presented monthly. Participants are given the opportunity to learn job search and employment skills, labor market information and work on personal, academic and professional development. Mock interviews are conducted during the last day of the training to allow participants a chance to practice the skills they've learned during the week.

Setting up a "real world" interview experience is important to the mock interview process. Local business people join us to conduct the mock interviews and provide valuable feedback to the program participants.

Everyone enrolled in our program must complete Project C.E.O. (along with other pre-requisites)before being consider for an internship with area businesses.

(Pictured above: Virginia and Matt Geiger with American Family Insurance, Woodburn, from Project C.E.O. February)

Safeway Employer Spotlight - March 12th in McMinnville

Friday March 12th from 10am to noon our McMinnville site will host Safeway in an Employer Spotlight. A representative will be on site to present information about the history of Safeway, employment opportunities and how to apply. Please contact the McMinnville office at 503-857-0793 for more information.