WEYERHAUSER WORKERS START THE RETRAINING PROCESS

Workers at the Weyerhauser I-Level plant in Deerwood completed initial meetings yesterday with members of the state's rapid response team. Sue Hilgart is with the Brainerd Workforce Center. She said the next step will be for the workers to complete surveys and fill out career assessment forms. She said the workers seemed very focused and engaged and seemed ready to make some good decisions. Hilgars said funds from the Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program will lead the workers in one of three tracks, toward immediate employment, toward short-term training to fine-tune transferrable skills, and long-term training into anothe line of work. Weyerhauser announced earlier this week that it was closing the plant but would maintain the equipment on the possibility that the housing industry would show new growth.