Olam Spices is our Gold Star Partner of the Month
West Hills Community College District has an extensive and integral partnership with Olam Spices, which has included everything from Olam Spices serving on advisory boards to West Hills students finding work with the company. Olam Spices is this month's Gold Star Partner because of their dedication to Lemoore College, Coalinga College, North District Center Firebaugh, and the West Hills Community College District.
"Partnering with Lemoore College has helped expand industrial and agricultural knowledge to the community and helped students at West Hills to fully understand our business needs," said Layla Bunn of Olam Spices. "We've found that the partnership ensures that students are well informed and aware of the functionality behind our business, students have the opportunity to explore career opportunities within Olam Spices, and that we are able to coordinate events to benefit both the employer and the student."
Olam Spices representatives serve on Lemoore College's Industrial Technology Advisory Commmitee, providing valuable insight into their industry and its needs as programs are developed at the college.
"They have been integral to the development of industrial technology programs at Lemoore College and their input is essential," said Kris Costa, Dean of Career Technical Education at WHCL.
Olam also regularly particpates in work based learning events like Entree to Employment- an annual event where students connect with employers and learn interview skills through a business dinner. They also have contributed to the Biz Chat series hosted by the WHCL WIN Center (Workforce, Internship and Networking Center.) This series features employers chatting about their industries in an informal presentation. Students can ask about what it's like working in the industry and what the qualifiactions are and get a chance to connect with the employers.
Olam has also participated in Manufacturing Day, a national event, by hosting engineering students for torus of their facilities.
Olam Spices has also been a great partner for students looking for jobs. Lemoore College students have been hired in entry level positions at their Hanford and Lemoore locations and in some instances have decided to make it their career. In one instance, Olam Spices hosted an intern from WHCL who has since gone on to work there as a full time Human Resources generalist.
District-wide, Olam Spices is also an active partner of the Westside Works Apprenticeship Program and serves on the Coalinga College Farm of the Future Agriculture Advisory committee.
They have also partnered with WHCCD's Westside Institute of Technology for incumbent worker training. WIT trained 20 Olam Spices employees in hydraulic systems. It was sponsored via a partnership with Kings County EDC specifically targeting incumbent workers.
"Because of our partnership with West Hills, we have also had the opportunity to network/partner with other industries which has opened up opportunities for us to participate and be exposed to our future employees/college students and high school students," said Yariana Garcilazo, Olam Spices. "Some examples would be: Manufacturing Day, Ag Career Exploration, Farm Day, South Valley Industrial Summit, and the Ag Industry Listening Session hosted by WIB. We have also partnered with Kings County EDC and West Hills to provide training to our current workforce. We have also partnered with Kings County EDC and West Hills to provide training to our current workforce. The Westside Institute of Technology really tailored the training to our workforce."