Wakefern Joins On-The-Job-Training Initiative as Employer Committed to Employee Union County Residents

Elizabeth Development Company Working With Two of Wakefern’s Warehouse Facilities

In March and early April Wakefern hosted job recruitment fairs at two of its warehouse locations including Keasbey, NJ and Elizabeth, NJ. Both locations attracted more than 40 Union County applicants hoping to land on-the-job-training (OJT) opportunities in the warehouses. The unemployed applicants were seeking jobs in warehousing through an OJT initiative administered by the Elizabeth Development Company in partnership with the Union County Workforce Investment Board and City of Elizabeth.

The Wakefern Food Corp., founded in 1946 and based in Keasbey, New Jersey, is the largest retailer owned cooperative in the United States and one of the largest employers in New Jersey.1 Its 50 members own and operate their own stores under the ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer banners. With more than 250 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves more than five million customers each week.

EDC has partnered with Wakefern to find Union County resident seeking jobs and careers within its warehouse division. Newly hired OJT employees will also receive support services as they train in the new warehouse positions.

Since the program began in the summer of 2013, EDC has identified three growth industries as its focus to help unemployed Union County residents find on-the-job-training opportunities, which include, warehousing, hospitality, and customer service. In this instance, EDC partnered with Wakefern to match unemployed residents with a major employer and offer warehousing jobs.