Orion Industries

As a social enterprise nonprofit, we prioritize business goals alongside mission goals.
Orion will:
1. Achieve or exceed budgeted sales, income, and cash.
2. Achieve or exceed targeted quality and delivery production goals.
3. Achieve targeted mission-based performance metrics.
4. Continue development of Succession and Staff Development plan begun in 2021.
5. Leverage software platforms to streamline organizational processes and save costs.
6. Advance Board Development efforts to incorporate new perspectives.

Orion’s Model for Success: Multiple Programs for Every Ability
We seek to disrupt a lifestyle of poverty by instilling hope for a self-sustaining future. Orion supports a diverse range of individuals looking to enter the workforce through our various Training and Employment (T&E) programs. These programs provide valuable technical and soft skills, vocational counseling, case management, job placement services and job retention supports.

Through the operation of our aerospace manufacturing businesses, our clerical and administrative-based training programs, and our long-term Supported Employment services in Mukilteo, individuals receive the support they need to prepare for and connect with work. Benefits of participating in Orion’s programs include increased financial stability, barrier management support, permanent employment with wage progression, and increased self-confidence.

All services are provided at Orion by professional employment staff and mentors who provide on-the-job training, and each program offers an opportunity to learn in a supportive environment by ability level. Staff continuously monitor progress and provide feedback, while individuals work to manage barriers, with the goal of obtaining full and stable employment. Participants in Orion’s on-the-job training programs earn minimum wage, while a stipend is offered in the classroom-based program.

All of Orion’s programs focus on identified Life Skills, or what we call, our “winning traits.” These characteristics are reviewed at orientation and form the basis of our paid training programs, with consistent messaging via mentorship and counseling. Our winning traits focus on addressing the core reasons individuals often lose employment including attendance, attitude, communication, teamwork and more.

Once enrolled into a program, participants are assigned an Orion vocational counselor who provides one-to-one case management and counseling, conducts performance reviews, addresses support needs and/or locates resources, and assists in job goal creation. If financial, educational, legal, or disability-related barriers are identified, staff make referrals and follow up to ensure individuals’ needs are addressed.

After successful completion of training and demonstration of job readiness, participants engage in our job placement services, where they work with an Orion job developer on researching and responding to employment vacancies, resume development, building interviewing skills, and completing sample applications. Once permanent employment is attained, Orion initiates our job retention services to ensure a smooth transition to the position. These retention services may include supporting the individual, the employer, or both parties. Altogether, the average program length in our training programs is just under six months.

Orion’s Model for Success: Multiple Programs for Every Ability

The Manufacturing Program
The Manufacturing Program offers a hands-on experience where participants learn soft and technical skills in a real-world manufacturing facility. Participants are trained using actual work statements utilized in aerospace production and manufacturing. Work Areas within the manufacturing program vary by site and include wire assembly, mechanical assembly, machine operation, shipping/receiving, and finish.

In our manufacturing program, participants change work areas every four weeks. We offer 4- to 6-month internships in CNC (computer numerical control – the automated control of machining tools by means of a computer) and Mechanical Assembly for participants to deepen their knowledge. In our internship program, training is extended and there are specific learning objectives which interns must meet.

As a supplement to on-the-job training, Orion has developed a robust academic curriculum for our participants. Participants will be assessed for mechanical and mathematical aptitude and placed in classes according to skill level.

Clerical Customer Service Program
Today, regardless of employment position, basic computer skills and the ability to navigate computer programs are a requirement. The Clerical Customer Service Program utilizes self-directed, audio, visual, and group formats for learning. Curriculum is individualized based on each person’s goals and aptitudes. Skills taught include basic computer skills, keyboarding, the Microsoft Office suite, and customer service skills.

The Custodial Training Program
Orion’s Custodial Training offers paid work experience to participants while they learn janitorial/custodial skills typically utilized in business settings. In addition to these technical skills, the program also focuses on basic employment skills, positive work behaviors, and resume building. Participants receive one-on-one, hands-on training to learn general office, floor care, restroom cleaning protocol and techniques, general safety, and clean-up. They gain experience working with the tools, equipment, and materials typically used in custodial tasks. While in the program, participants receive vocational counseling and assistance determining career goals which may or may not be related to custodial positions.

Orion’s Theory of Change identifies our goal as “Build stability, ability, and belief to access and sustain long-term employment.” It identifies four areas that our services address and impact: Gain Employment, Reduce Barriers, Gain (Soft and Technical) Skills, and Build Self-Esteem. Orion utilizes a comprehensive electronic case management system that tracks critical information, including goals, progress, outcomes, and demographics such as living situation, disability, income, and family size.

Overall, we believe in the power of good jobs to positively change lives, families, and communities. Our highly successful models for transitional and inclusive employment are providing the path to economic independence. In 2021, Orion served 256 participants in our programs. Seventy percent of participants who completed our training programs located employment, and 87% maintained that employment for 90 days or more. In addition, starting pay for Orion participants after training averaged $16.44 per hour, and most positions were full-time with benefits (average hours worked per week is 39 hours). Overall, we believe in the power of good jobs to positively change lives, families, and communities.

With 65 years of experience preparing people for employment, we have seen the difference our unique approach can make. Our carefully collected data reveals that Orion delivers a 3:1 social return on investment. In other words, for every dollar invested in training an individual for a career, three dollars of taxpayer money has been saved due to their reduced dependency on state and federal welfare programs, including unemployment payments, SNAP benefits (food stamps), housing assistance (section 8), and supplemental security incomes. Understanding that unemployment adds to the economic burden on our region, we intend to alter that trajectory. Instead, we create paths to employment so that participants may achieve self-sufficiency for themselves and their families and become greater contributors in their communities.