Predictions are good for this year’s Cherry crop in Oregon (apparently there are experts who can predict this kind of thing based on everything from the weather to pollination patterns).  While this has ice cream sundae fans jazzed, it should also strike a chord with everyone else in Oregon (even if you prefer your dessert sans-fruit).

Lot’s of cherries means farmers will make more money and give a boost to that entire industry.  BUT, it will also mean those farms have to hire more people to get the fruit from the trees to your tummy.  That means lots of new jobs for local people.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

OHSU

OHSU is making life easier for patients.  They’re also making things easier for doctors and hospitals.  Oh, and they’re creating a bunch of new jobs, too.

Cool, huh?

It’s all thanks to Informatics (fancy word for “new way to share information through new technology” … we’ll try to explain it as best we can but might be best to visit the link down below for a more indepth look).  OHSU is pioneering the study and implementation of Informatics, which positions the place on the hill at the front of this booming field.

With federal stim money targeted for Informatics technology, we’re going to see a bunch of new jobs both in the manufacture of the new tech and people to operate it.  Plus, patients can expect smoother medical appointments as it gets easier to share info between offices.

Click here for more info.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Travis Wolfe - Courtesy Camas Washougal Post-Record

The story of Travis Wolfe is all too common.  Nice guy, hard worker, loses his business when the economy turns and then struggles for months to find a new job.

But Wolfe’s saga takes an interesting turn.  He tells GNPDX that after months of searching on his own, he went to the Goodwill Job Connection Center for help.  You see, while Goodwill offers training and jobs through their stores, they also have career specialists to help place people in jobs outside the Goodwill World.

Wolfe sat down with Steve Milford, one of their career experts, and they started talking.  While Milford offered tips on jazzing up his resume (putting certain words in bold, highlighting skill sets over titles), he also got a chance to learn about Wolfe’s passions.

Turns out, Wolfe just kind of fell into the mortgage industry and had a real passion for flying.  So now, instead of looking for a gig in mortgages, they started looking for something that would allow Wolfe to go back to school and learn more about aviation.

Thanks to Milford’s tips, Wolfe’s resume got to the top of a stack of 1,000 (yes, one-thousand) resumes and land the job as a property manger.  He lives onsite, makes a full salary and is only “on-call” until noon . . . leaving plenty of time for a full day of school in the afternoon and evening.

Think this is an awesome story?  Think it’s the only one of its kind?

Wrong.

6,400+ people were also placed in jobs by Goodwill last year.  20,000 got help in their search.

More than 22,000 people have been placed since 2005.

Oh, and all of those stats . . . their local to Portland Metro.

If you would like to find a new job or replace your current one . . . why not give it a try?  Click here.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Jonathan House - The Beaverton Valley Times

If you find yourself stuck in traffic a lot on Highway 217  (and what westsider doesn’t?) you’ll be glad to know that ODOT is doing a bit of a remodel.  By 2011, the northbound stretch from TV Highway to the Sunset will add a lane which should ease things up a bit.  A new lane is also going in southbound from Wilshire to Walker Road.

Better yet, the two and a half year project will require just shy of 500 new jobs.  

Of course this could mean some traffic issues during the construction.  Make sure you tune in to NewsRadio 750 KXL for the latest on delays.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Courtesy TH!NK

Nothing’s official yet, but there’s a press conference scheduled for Tuesday in Downtown PDX including Governor Kulongoski, Senator Wyden and Richard Canny.  Canny is the North America CEO for TH!NK, an electric car manufacturer in Norway.  They’re looking to expand production into the US and have eight spots on their short list.

Oregon is one of them.

Anyone else think it would be a bit odd to have a press conference if it weren’t good news?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

How many people does it take to dig a really big hole and fill it with water?  1,500.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The Outlook has an update on the FedEx plant in Troutdale.  It’s ALL Good News.  The 400,000 square foot plant is ahead of schedule and doors should be open by next summer.

The massive distribution center means jobs (over 1,000) pumping $24 Million into the community through payroll (doubling in the first five years).

Jim Clark - Gresham Outlook

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It happens every weekend in homes all over the state.  Saturday morning rolls around and dad starts checking things off the list that mom has been working on all week.  Paint the shutters.  Fix the lawn mower.  Hang that painting of Great Uncle Thaddeus.  

Rather than sit around doing nothing, best to get caught up on all of those little projects that have been nagging at you for the past month.

Well Governor Kulongoski thinks we can apply the same basic concept to the Oregon economy and pull ourselves out of this infernal recession.  And he signed a $175 Million dollar package (backed by bonds) to prove it.

Thousands of Oregonians will be put to work fixing schools and repairing roads in the coming months.  Matter of fact, all of those employees will be punching time cards by the first of April.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites