The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI), in partnership with PIDC’s Navy Yards Skills Initiative (NYSI), have launched a new job training program with Tasty Baking Company, one of Philadelphia’s most iconic food companies. The maker of Tastykake, the company is headquartered at the Navy Yard.

The program recruits and trains unemployed Philadelphians for training and job opportunities as Production Associates.

WPSI and NYSI custom designed the Production Associate Program for Tasty Baking Company (now owned by Flowers Foods, Inc.) to connect participants to the tools and support needed to build a meaningful career in the advanced manufacturing food production industry. The production associate role is a part-time position earning $14.60/hour, and associates can submit a request for extra hours creating a full-time schedule. Typically, production associates transition to full-time employment in less than a year and earn $17.00/hour in addition to becoming members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers’ (BCTGM) International Union.

The production associate program is a blend of virtual courses and in-person sessions. It will use classroom training space at Penn State’s Navy Yard campus, and will run January 10 through January 28.

Interested applicants can visit https://navyyard.org/workforce/jobs to learn more about the program and submit an application by Friday, Dec. 17 at 5:00 p.m..

The Production Associate Program will be the third NYSI program administered by PIDC at the Navy Yard in partnership with WPSI, following successful collaborations with Four Seasons Total Landscaping and Philly Shipyard. You can read about the partnership with Philly Shipyard in this article from The Inquirer’s Catherine Dunn.