Potential partners for VISTAs working on employmnet programs

I know this should probably go in the Program Dev/MGMT forum, but does anyone look at the other forums?

So, if you're a VISTA working on a program that does job training/job placement/etc I seriously encourage you to look up the nearest Frito-Lay's location. This might seem like odd advice, but I just got back from an awesome open house put on by the Frito-Lay distribution center in my area. They contacted my program and several other community job programs about building partnerships for employment.

This might sound like a pitch, but I was seriously impressed by the fact Frito-Lay sought us all out. The whole company is really committed to a diverse work force and supporting employees. Like, in my area they have lower percentages of women working in certain positions so they are looking to WorkSource and programs like mine to help find potential employees.

If you're working on reentry programs it *could* be something to look into. I asked their HR people about criminal background checks and drug tests. Both are thorough, but if a person has a felony from when they were a juvenile it seems like Frito-Lay works on a case by case basis to see if they can hire or not.

They briefly went over benefits for employees, which is so hard to gain for most low-income people looking for good jobs. From the few bullet points I saw it seems fairly comprehensive (certainly better than our coverage).

This is the direct site for employment: www.fritolayemployment.com