2018 COABE Workplace Winner Of The Year Featured In Washington Post For Advancing Adult Education & Workforce Development Post Hurricane Maria

CICERO, N.Y., Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dakota Provisions was recognized by the Coalition for Adult Basic Education (COABE) for workplace excellence as the 2018 Workplace Winner for its ongoing collaborative efforts with a local adult education provider to offer English-language instruction to its employees, helping them to integrate into the community and putting them on a path to economic mobility and professional advancement.

"We are pleased to see a leading partner in adult education and workforce development featured in a prominent, national publication," said COABE Executive Director Sharon Bonney. "Dakota Provisions is helping to build its local workforce by offering good-paying jobs to a population with great need right now, and we know the company's commitment does not end there."

The Washington Post feature chronicles the first days of a young woman from Puerto Rico who left her home state to pursue a job at the turkey processing facility, which employs 1,000 workers, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The story provides insight into the company's efforts to find workers for hard-to-fill positions by recruiting from outside its backyard. 

The company has partnered with and provides assistance to the Cornerstones Career Learning Center, which provides English-language instruction to Dakota Provisions employees. After the company hired a large number of the center's students before they were able to take a post-test to measure their learning progress, the company made time and space at the plant for center staff to administer the test there. Additionally, the company and the center collaborated to offer weekend classes for employees and worked together to develop a workplace literacy program customized for employees interested in supervisory roles.

Dakota Provisions is one employer highlighted as part of Educate & Elevate, a national adult education campaign to move learning opportunities forward for all Americans to achieve economic mobility. A recent Adecco State of the Economy survey highlighted the need for more educated workers. It found that 92 percent of business leaders thought U.S. workers were not as skilled as they needed to be, and according to a 2010 report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, by this year, 63 percent of all U.S. jobs were expected to require education beyond high school.

Contact: Sharon Bonney
Phone: 315-395-2789

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SOURCE Coalition for Adult Basic Education (COABE)