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PepsiCo Foundation & National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation announce million-dollar partnership to expand workforce training
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Wednesday, 11 December, 2024, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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New York, USA
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The PepsiCo Foundation and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) are proud to announce a strategic partnership aimed at expanding restaurant and hospitality job-readiness training to new cities across United States to help build a future workforce. This collaboration will empower people from all backgrounds to pursue jobs in the restaurant industry, providing them with the skills necessary to start and build a restaurant industry career. The PepsiCo Foundation awarded NRAEF $1 million dollars to expand the Restaurant Ready program aimed at training employees and providing career services to underserved communities.
C.D. Glin, president, PepsiCo Foundation & global head of Social Impact, PepsiCo Inc., said, "We are thrilled to partner with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation to expand workforce training programs and create more opportunities for individuals to acquire essential skills and build rewarding careers in the restaurant industry. Our commitment to supporting food service workers underscores our dedication to creating lasting change, feeding potential and catalysing social and economic advancement for people and communities."
Through this partnership, NRAEF will leverage the support of the PepsiCo Foundation to enhance its training initiatives, focusing on equipping aspiring restaurant employees with the essential skills and knowledge required to thrive in the industry. The expansion will target underserved communities, ensuring that more individuals have access to the Restaurant Ready training program and subsequent employment opportunities through its network of community-based organisations and state restaurant associations. The PepsiCo Foundation investment has already allowed Restaurant Ready to launch in five new sites including Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City.
Rob Gifford, president, National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, said, "First jobs are deeply formative, representing a 'foot in the door' and the chance to start and grow a career. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is focused on ensuring people from disadvantaged populations can grab ahold of these opportunities through the Restaurant Ready programme. We are grateful for the support of the PepsiCo Foundation, which is helping us to equip more people than ever to build a future in our industry."
The PepsiCo Foundation through NRAEF has supported more than 2 thousand trainees in 2024, including more than a thousand new enrollees this year alone.
Chef Frankie (Shannon Curtis), a Restaurant Ready employer in Prince George's County, Maryland, said, "We have seen some transformative experiences for individuals, including 'second chance' hires who have an opportunity to move into the workforce, learn, obtain their industry certifications, and get to work. We want to change lives. For me, that means working with people, knowing we're giving them an opportunity that they may not have otherwise."
RC Jr., Restaurant Ready participant at Impact Culinary in Chicago, Illinois, said, "Learning the job readiness training competencies has really helped me sharpen up on my communication skills. This brought my confidence and knowledge up another level. Being able to practice with other people and practice interviews was very helpful for me and I believe it was helpful for others also."
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