Nestlé Waters North America to Expand Apprenticeships

Stamford, CT, Sep 26, 2016 /3BL Media/ - Delivering on its commitment to promote comprehensive job training, Nestlé Waters North America today announced that it has joined with the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) in its effort to increase the federal grant for apprenticeships in the state of Maine.

As part of this initiative, Nestlé Waters has included its apprenticeship program with the Maine Department of Labor’s (MDOL) application for grant funding under the U.S Department of Labor’s new ApprenticeshipUSA program. ApprenticeshipUSA is designed to help states to expand and diversify apprenticeships to better respond to industry workforce demands.

For its part, Nestlé Waters is committed to placing 10 percent of its mechanic hires into its apprenticeship program by 2022. Those selected as apprentices will be eligible to earn a national Manufacturing Mechanic Certification that is recognized in every state. In Maine, Nestlé Waters operates three Poland Spring bottling facilities and has eight spring water sources. Poland Spring is the #1-selling spring water brand in the country and it supports 850 good jobs for Maine residents.

“Providing practical job and training opportunities is not only good for our employees, it’s good for business,” said Tim Brown, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Nestlé Waters North America. “A highly-skilled work force is key to meeting today’s fast-moving business demands. We’re proud to support the Maine Department of Labor to launch this important program, which will enable apprentices to earn higher paying jobs.”

As a business sponsor and industry partner of the Maine Department of Labor, Nestlé Waters North America is committed to the following grant activities:

• Placing 10 percent of new mechanic hires into its apprenticeship program by 2022
• Developing a curriculum that can be started at the High School level with Maine schools, and giving credits that can be used for Nestlé Waters’ apprenticeships
• Mentoring new apprentices and participating in meetings and events with MDOL
• Engaging in integrated statewide apprenticeship strategies to meet the demand for new programs
• Working with education partners to ensure Nestlé Waters’ needs are aligned with their training curriculum
• Providing required data points for progress evaluation and reporting functions to the Apprenticeship staff at the MDOL

The Nestlé Waters Apprenticeship program is part of “Project Opportunity,” an innovative career acceleration initiative by Nestlé in the United States to help people of all ages gain work experience and strengthen their professional development skills in food and beverage manufacturing. As part of Nestlé’s broader global initiative to address the global unemployment crisis, the company has pledged to expand its apprenticeship program to 31 Nestlé factories in the United States, hire 1,000 paid interns and trainees by 2017, and reach 300,000 people with “readiness for work” activities annually.

Project Opportunity will expand the number of Nestlé apprenticeships from 20 to 136 across its U.S. operations by 2017, offering an up to three-year program that combines on-the-job and coursework-based training to develop critical manufacturing job skills.

About Nestlé Waters North America

Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as Nestlé® Pure Life®, Poland Spring®, Perrier® and S.Pellegrino® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with about 8,500 employees nationwide, Nestlé Waters is committed to reducing its environmental footprint across its operations. The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates in the U.S.

Media Contact:

Christopher Rieck
Director of Media Relations
202-629-7243
chris.rieck@waters.nestle.com