The pre-apprenticeship program is part of Hershey’s planned expansion at its Augusta County plant and has been supported through a $4 Million American Apprenticeship Initiative grant awarded to the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board (SVWDB) by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Employment & Training Administration.
Dean Dodson was a student in the August 2018 Wilson Workforce & Rehabilitation Center’s Manufacturing Technology Training class. He saw one of the social media posts for the Hershey Manufacturing Boot camp last spring and contacted the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board directly.