Martha Castillo hails from a long line of hardworking farmworkers from Michoacan, Mexico.
Castillo, 25, toiled in Palm Beach County fields, picking cucumbers and boxing avocados during school breaks to help out her family of 10, she said.
Today, Castillo has broken from the cycle of grueling farm work. The Delray Beach resident is a part-time cashier at a gas station and studies word processing at the South Florida Computer Training Center on Military Trail.
“We did what we had to do to put food on the table, but it’s back-breaking work,” Castillo said. “I always aspired to improve myself so I could get away from that work, because it’s a very hard life.”
Castillo is one of about 80 participants in Palm Beach County’s Adult Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program. The 30-year-old program offers free vocational training and job placement to farmworkers or their dependents who want to embark on alternate careers.
“Many farming families are left without the means to make a living after the harvest,” said program counselor Ada Medina-SolM-srzano. “Something needed to be done to prepare them for other jobs.”
The program pays for tuition in various disciplines, including computer training, auto mechanics, medical or nursing assistance, truck driving and welding.
Courses last for 12 to 18 months, and are taken at Palm Beach County Community College or at accredited private vocational schools. Only U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who earn below the federal poverty level can enroll, she added.
Classes are four to six hours long, so students are paid a stipend of $2.95 to $4.75 an hour to compensate for lost wages, Medina-SolM-srzano said.
“It helps them out because some of them have kids and have to pay someone to take care of them while they’re in school,” she said.
The program operates on a nearly $500,000 annual budget from the U.S. Department of Labor through the Department of Education, Medina-SolM-srzano said.
Many schools, like the South Florida Computer Training Center, offer job placement. Medina-SolM-srzano helps students in programs that don’t have the job placement component, she said.
“We place about 85 percent of our students annually,” Medina-SolM-srzano said. “We could probably place more, but it does require effort on the students’ behalf, too. We can get them the interviews, but then it’s up to them.”
Castillo will be easy to place because of her work ethic and determination, Medina-SolM-sranzo said. She should quickly land a job earning about $10 an hour, added Billy Panchoosignh, Castillo’s instructor.
“She works hard, learns quickly and is very goal-oriented,” Panchoosignh said. “I know someone will snap her up. We get many calls for bilingual word processors.”
When Castillo began the 21-week-long software training program, she couldn’t type and had never used a computer. Today, she touch-types about 55 words per minute, and is quickly soaking up such programs as Microsoft Word, Excel and Windows.
“I was so nervous at first,” Castillo said.
Castillo, who immigrated to the United States at 8, lives with her eldest sister Gloria, who at 19 became mother to eight siblings after their parents died.
“My mom [Gloria] worked very hard, and always said she wanted me to have a better life,” Castillo said. “I’m the first one to graduate from high school. Now I will become the first one to work in an office. She’s very proud.”
For more information on the Adult Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program, contact 561-355-4793.
Mel MelM-indez can be reached at mmelendez@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6538.