The regional partnership between SVWDB, Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center, and the Hershey Company was featured in the Spring 2019 Society for Human Resource Management’s HRMagazine.

“The Hershey Company has been feeling the pinch over the last several years trying to fill maintenance and manufacturing roles at its plant in Stuarts Draft, Va. Manufacturing—and the perception of it as a viable career option—has changed a lot since the plant was first built in 1982 to produce Reese’s Pieces.

“Manufacturing is so important to the country, but it’s not always people’s first career choice,” says Kevin Walling, Hershey’s senior vice president and chief human resources officer. “But the quality of work in manufacturing, the benefits and the pay are exceptional. So we decided to partner with the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board in 2018, which works with local high schools to encourage young people to seek careers in manufacturing and develop a future workforce.”

READ MORE of this excellent article about innovative programs in Scaling Up Skills by Roy Maurer!