Shapiro Administration highlights importance of workforce development
ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – The Shapiro Administration was in Adams County on Friday to highlight the need for additional funding to boost skilled workers and close workforce gaps across Pennsylvania.
Governor Josh Shapiro's 2025-2026 budget proposal includes $12.5 million for the WEDnetPA program. It was created by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development 26 years ago.
The current funding is $8 million. The Shapiro Administration says the demand is at least double which is why they are asking for more in this budget proposal.
Raystown campgrounds close due to staffing shortages
'While this year will support almost 500 businesses with important WEDNET programing, there are currently 250 applications outstanding requesting additional funds,' said DCED Secretary Rick Siger.
The program provides funding to qualified employers like Rice Fruit Company in Adams County to train new and existing employees. The company received a WEDnetPA grant of up to $30,000.
'We're going to take meaningful steps towards empowering our workforce to develop skills in areas that have been long goals,' said Rice Fruit Company President Ben Rice.
The Rice family has been growing apples since the late 1700's. Ben Rice says he will also take part in training; he's excited to take a statistics class.
'That will bring technical knowledge to an area of our work that we hope will give us the skills to harness the data technology and the data tools that are coming out that are very exciting,' said Rice.
Often, government officials don't get the chance to see for themselves what programs like this one does for the company and its employees.
'You think of an apple company as sort of low tech, right? You're taking apple off a tree or putting in a box. It could not be further from the truth. They're incredible technology applications here, robotic applications. The people that are working with all this equipment need to have great training that takes that apple from the tree to your kitchen table in great shape with great taste,' said Siger.
Since WEDnetPA started, its provided training to more than 1.3 million employees at more than 23,000 companies.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
How a Rice Shortage Spurred a National Crisis in Japan
A shortage of rice in Japan — a problem that has been in the making since 2023 — has caused the price of the household staple to surge, exacerbating the country's cost of living challenges and fueling resentment among the population. As of June, a 5-kilogram bag of rice cost on average ¥4223 ($29.15) — almost double what it did a year ago. In some cases schools have cut back on the days they serve rice for lunch. Shops and restaurants have hiked the prices of their rice dishes.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
VPT Announces New VP of North American Sales, Trevor Rice
BLACKSBURG, Va., June 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- VPT, Inc., a global leader in high-reliability power conversion solutions and a HEICO company (NYSE: HEI.A) (NYSE: HEI), is pleased to announce the appointment of Trevor Rice as Vice President of North American Sales. With more than 25 years of sales management experience, Rice will lead VPT's Outside Sales Team, Inside Sales Operations, and an extensive network of North American representatives. His leadership will be instrumental in advancing VPT's mission to deliver high-reliability DC-DC power conversion solutions. Prior to joining VPT, Rice spent 16 years with XP Power, a global manufacturer of AC-DC, DC-DC, high voltage, and RF power solutions. As Director of Sales, he led a team of Direct Sales Managers serving key sectors including semiconductor fabrication, healthcare, industrial, and defense markets. Rice began his career at Blacksburg-based Luna Innovations, where he held multiple engineering and sales positions, including Director of Business Development. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. "I'm thrilled to join VPT and contribute to a company with such a strong legacy in high-reliability power solutions," said Trevor Rice. "I look forward to working with our sales team and representatives to build on their successes and deliver value to our customers across North America." "Trevor's extensive technical background and decades of leadership in power conversion solutions make him an exceptional addition to our team," said Paul Andersen, who previously served as VPT's Vice President of North American Sales. "His addition to the team reinforces VPT's commitment to innovation and delivering customer-focused solutions in the power electronics industry." To learn more about VPT's leadership team and high-reliability power solutions, visit About VPT and HEICOVPT, Inc., part of the HEICO Electronic Technologies Group, is a global provider of innovative DC-DC power converters and EMI filters for avionics, military and space applications. Every day, organizations like NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, Thales, and many more depend on high-reliability solutions from VPT to power critical systems. For more information about VPT, please visit HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI.A) (NYSE:HEI) is engaged primarily in niche segments of the aviation, defense, space and electronics industries through its Hollywood, FL based HEICO Aerospace Holdings Corp. subsidiary and its Miami, FL-based HEICO Electronic Technologies Corp. subsidiary. For more information about HEICO, please visit Products described in this communication are subject to all export license restrictions and regulations which may include but are not limited to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and the Export Administration and Foreign Assets Control Regulations. Further restrictions may apply. The information provided is considered accurate at time of publication, errors or omissions excepted. VPT, Inc. reserves the right to make changes to products or services without prior notification and advises customers to obtain the latest version of all relevant technical information from VPT to verify data prior to placing orders. VPT, its logo and tagline are registered trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other names, product names and trade names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE VPT, Inc. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Newsweek
7 days ago
- Newsweek
Man About To Enter Job Interview—Horror As He Looks Down at His Pants
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. It is normal to feel nervous ahead of a job interview, but one man's feelings were heightened when he looked down at his pants. Reddit user u/He_Who_Quiets shared an image of his ripped jeans near the zipper on June 2, and it went viral, racking up more than 53,000 upvotes. Despite this outfit mishap, the man told Newsweek: "The interview went surprisingly well—the interviewer did notice, but only joked at the end of the interview that I could start tomorrow as long as I promised to wear different pants." In the comments, he added that it would have been hard for the interviewer to miss the rip, as they were sitting on plastic chairs without a table between them. The viral photo of the man's ripped jeans. The viral photo of the man's ripped jeans. Reddit/He_Who_Quiets He wrote: "The guy interviewing me was chill as hell, just seemed to find it funny." The man has since updated the post: "I got the job anyway. I think they would have hired literally anyone to wash dishes at this restaurant." Newsweek discussed the post with HR expert David Rice, who said that accidents happen. He added: "Don't panic, these things happen. Everyone has spilled something on themselves, sat in something, not noticed a stain. It's part of life." Rice said: "Give yourself some cushion around the time you arrive at the interview so you can handle these types of things. If you're in a hurry and you're trying to fix something, it's going to compound matters." Rice suggested bringing a backup outfit for interviews to help ease some of the stress. He said: "Someone at the coffee shop spills their iced latte and it gets on you? You can pull out the backup clothes and get changed in the bathroom. You probably won't need the extra clothes, but the peace of mind will keep you focused on the task at hand instead of panicking about how you look." A Harris Poll conducted online for the American Staffing Association in October 2022, which involved 2,019 U.S. adults, found that there were notable gender differences in how men and women approach job interview preparation. Women were more likely than men to consider various prep strategies important, such as researching the company (73 percent versus 66 percent); choosing an interview outfit (72 percent versus 60 percent); and preparing questions to ask (66 percent versus 56 percent). Rice, who lives in Atlanta and is the senior editor for the People Managing People podcast, which is aimed at managers and culture creators who want to lead better, said: "It depends on the culture of the organization. If it's a well-accepted norm in their culture that business attire isn't the norm, it may not be a big deal, but you never want to assume that. You should always look presentable because it helps people take you seriously and respect the approach you're taking to the process of finding a job. "That doesn't mean you have to wear a suit or a dress, but you should be presentable in the same way you would be for a nice dinner. This tells them you're serious about getting the job and, if nothing else, you're capable of meeting dress code requirements if there are any related to the job." Reddit Reacts As of now, the post has over 3,700 comments—with many users highlighting the shadow in the image that makes it look like a urine stain. "Peeing your pants is cool," commented one user, and another wrote: "The first issue is that you're wearing jeans to a job interview." "Congrats on the job. You'll be able to buy some new pants soon," posted a third commenter. Have you had a workplace dilemma? Let us know via life@ We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
