Oringi workers check out UCOL

Oringi workers check out UCOL

A group of former meat workers from the Oringi works in Dannevirke will visit Palmerston North this week to check out training options at UCOL.

The visit by 14 former Oringi freezing workers has been organised by UCOL, working with Work and Income and the Meat Workers’ Union.

External Relations Team Leader Danette Whitehouse says UCOL will transport the workers to UCOL and will provide morning tea and lunch while they are at the campus.

The visit, on Friday 13 June, will include a tour of the facilities for UCOL Trades programmes and is aimed at supporting the workers into training for a new career. Danette says a number have also expressed interest in computer related programmes.

She says where possible some hands-on experience will be made available. “These are practical people who have become highly skilled in their roles at Oringi. They’ll now be looking to upskill or develop a whole new skill area for a new career.

“We can help them build a training package tailored to their individual needs.”

UCOL Trades programmes include Furniture Making, Carpentry, Joinery, Automotive Trades and Panel and Paint, Wheel Alignment and Tyre Servicing, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Motorsport, and Hairdressing. A range of employment related programmers in Computer Technology are also available.

PPCS confirmed the closure of its Oringi plant near Dannevirke last month, putting 466 people out of work. Some of the workers have since found employment at other meat plants elsewhere in the country. Others are seeking work closer to Dannevirke or looking at retraining options.

ENDS

© Scoop Media