The following is excerpted from the Church Newsroom. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

“I’ve been able to bless my family. Bills will be paid. It helps … support the struggles that we have. I don’t know where I would be without this program,” said Garrett Bloomquist, a production trainer at Deseret Manufacturing.

Garrett is one of dozens of employees supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ manufacturing and training facilities, which are looking for a few good workers, with no experience required. Associates get paid while they learn new job skills and establish a work history at the Humanitarian Center and nearby Deseret Manufacturing in Salt Lake City, Utah.  

Deseret Manufacturing

“We have three different factories under the label of Deseret Manufacturing, but what we really do is we build people by building product,” said Joel Deeble, operations manager at Deseret Manufacturing, located on the west side of Salt Lake City.

“We have our associates, the trainees, that come via a bishop’s referral, and as they come into the program they are assigned one of the three areas: our sleep department, the wood manufacturing, or our sign shop,” Deeble added.

“[For] me, after high school, I struggled a bit because I struggle with autism and I was high functioning, but I also had no routine, no schedule, no plans, and no goals, and it was very hard for me to even get out of my room and get out of bed,” explained Bloomquist.

Bloomquist’s training began six years ago when he came to the facility as an associate. Now he works as a trainer to help manufacture beds.

“I run the coiling equipment. … I make the springs for mattresses. It’s one of the harder jobs in the same department,” he said.

“We make two different types of mattresses — we make a deluxe mattress and a supreme mattress. … We have basically most things you need to furnish your home,” Deeble said.

After serving time in prison and being unemployed, Neal Sharp’s bishop gave him a referral about 2½ years ago to participate Deseret Manufacturing’s work training program. Now Sharp is working as the lead on the paint line.

To read the full article, CLICK HERE.