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ETA News Release: [04/22/2003]
Contact Name: Lorette Post
Phone Number: (202) 693-3984

U.S. Labor Department and PETCO Form Business Partnership

One-Stop Career Centers Will Help PETCO Hire More Than 800 Groomers

WASHINGTON —The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a partnership with PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., to help the company recruit and hire more than 800 pet groomers this year. Emily Stover DeRocco, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training, and Paul Schmitt, vice president of human resources for PETCO, said the collaboration is part of the workforce investment system’s Partnerships for Jobs initiative.

“PETCO plans to provide employment opportunities for good paying jobs and good future prospects,” said DeRocco. “The workforce investment system’s One-Stop Career Centers will work closely with PETCO to connect the company with the many motivated and good workers that come to the centers seeking jobs.”

The Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration created the Partnerships for Jobs initiative to ensure that large, national employers recognize the potential of local One-Stop Career Centers as a source of high quality employees. The Centers, numbering nearly 1,900 nationwide, provide training, education and employment services in a single customer-friendly location.

“One-Stop Career Centers prepare workers for the jobs employers need to fill,” said DeRocco. “Partnering with PETCO expands the resources available to the company to match the employer’s needs with potential employees.”

With plans to open 60 new stores, PETCO sought to expand its relationship with One-Stop Career Centers after working successfully with two San Diego centers to help fill pet grooming classes. The company offers a 16-week paid training course, including classroom and hands-on work, at 13 training locations around the country.

“This federal partnership will help us tap directly into local resources through the One-Stop Career Centers,” Schmitt said. “We are confident that this program will help us fill these grooming positions and will also be an excellent tool to assist with our recruiting efforts as a whole.”

PETCO operates more than 600 neighborhood stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Along with four new Grooming Training Centers added last year in Houston, Dallas, Seattle and Denver, the company has centers in Lansing, Ill., Oakdale, Minn., Mesa, Ariz., Massapequa, N.Y., Waltham, Mass., Warminster, Pa., and Escondido, Vacaville and Glendale, Calif.

Through state and local partners, the Employment and Training Administration seeks to build a strong workforce by matching job training and employment services with current employer needs. Additional information about Partnerships for Jobs and PETCO’s partnership may be found at www.nbpjobs.org.

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