If I couldn't find any other job then by gosh I'd get out there and pick fruit. Away back in 1938 that's how my paternal grandfather ended up in Florida. Came south to pick fruit. It was the Great Depression and there was no work to be found so he went where the work was.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/nov/18/brent-batten-jobs-economy-agriculture-Florida/

Brent Batten: Sweet jobs there for the picking

* By BRENT BATTEN
* Posted November 18, 2009 at 3:35 p.m.

NAPLES — Florida’s job of the future will require applicants willing to shoulder heavy responsibility.

Though the footing may be uncertain and the business climate may run hot and cold, those able to climb the ladder of success will find sweet opportunity for the picking.

The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation has openings for 185 Southwest Florida go-getters willing to accept the challenge.

The innovative career they’ll be embarking on -- harvesting citrus.

In spite of its high-tech evoking, entrepreneurial sounding name, a big part of the mission of the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation involves matching workers, any workers, with jobs, any jobs.

Such is the case with a help wanted ad -- a rarity in itself -- found in the Nov. 8 edition of the Naples Daily News.

The ad describes in great detail the requirements of citrus harvesting, including the need to carry 100-pound bags and climb ladders up to 20-feet high, all while dealing with potential extremes of heat, cold and rain. The jobs pay around $8 an hour.

In a region trying to diversify from agriculture, tourism and construction to a new economy, the jobs are about as undiversified and old economy as it gets.

Still, Agency for Workforce Innovation spokesman Robby Cunningham said the ad is in keeping with the government agency’s charter. “We are a primary resource for both job seekers and employers. We connect those who are looking for employment in various industries with employers who are seeking employees. Both are encouraged to visit Employ Florida Marketplace (www.EmployFlorida.com), the state’s official network of job-matching services. EFM provides access to thousands of job openings and to other career development tools including employment and training services,” Cunningham said.

Successful applicants for the citrus jobs will end up working for P&L Harvesting in Lee, Hendry, Polk and Highlands counties.

Advertising the jobs through the Agency for Workforce Innovation, as opposed to say rounding up workers at a corner convenience store, helps keep the company and the workers on the right side of the law.

“The ad you saw was a result of the agency’s participation in the U.S. Department of Labor’s H-2A program. The H-2A Temporary Foreign Agricultural Worker Program is designed to ensure that the admission of temporary or seasonal foreign agricultural workers into the United States will not adversely affect the job opportunities, wages and working conditions of American workers,” Cunningham explained.

“The advertisement informs workers in the region that the jobs are available, provides the Florida job order number and instructs them to go to a local One-Stop Career Center, which is operated by AWI and our partner Workforce Florida, Inc. The center provides the applicant with complete information about the job openings, completes an I-9 (employment eligibility form) on the applicant and refers them to the employer.”

Should you be interested in getting in on the bottom rung of this growing industry, One-Stop Career Centers are located at 215 Airport-Pulling Road N. in Naples and 750 S. Fifth St. in Immokalee,

Connect with Brent Batten at http://www.naplesnews.com/staff/brent_batten/

At $8.00 per hour, I think I am going to have to pass on this opportunity, but thanks for the information. The harvesting of citrus is the single largest expense of the total processing of citrus fruit. - Millet (1,154-)

$8.00 a hour is a whole lot better than no dollars an hour if you have no other income. Which the news tells me that about 10% of the state are out of work.

.....Alan.

Unemployment insurance pays more than $8.00 per hour.- Millet (1,153-)

Where I live rural schools add two weeks to the school year so they can let kids out of school for two weeks in the fall for potato harvest. I suppose it is the same in many other farming areas. It used to be that there was no other way to get the work done. Now there are plenty of illegals around so it's not as critical. Maybe Florida should consider letting high school kids out for a couple of weeks to help with the harvest. The time off could be staggered at different schools to cover the harvest period. In my opinion farm work is extremely beneficial to teach kids how to work.