The company launched its www.MyWawaCampus.com website in June to promote its college-graduate leadership, loan forgiveness and internship programs. This at a time when many college students and recent college grads are scrambling for jobs. And so far, the response has been great, according to Liz Riggs, Wawa recruitment [image-nocss] manager. "We want to be able to compete for the best and the brightest, and this is just one avenue that we have to be able to build a diverse and inclusive workforce."
The 13-week, in-store internship program is designed to provide leadership basics to college students. It has two tracts, Riggs told CSP Daily News. The customer-service intern works closely with the customer-service manager to learn business fundamentals, and the foodservice intern works closely with a store's foodservice manager.
The college leadership program seeks out candidates who have graduated from college within the past year. While the program pays a competitive wage, more than that, it provides a foundation of leadership skills, according to the company.
"It's an attractive offer, especially when you add in benefits," Riggs said. Among the benefits of working for Wawa, the website lists the facts that Wawa associates own approximately 29% of the company, many senior managers start there in entry-level positions, and Wawa dedicates thousands of hours each year to training associates.
Another benefit is a potential job at the end of the program. "We offer them a structured 18-month program, and at the end of that program, we've given them all the skills that they need to apply to be a general manager; that's the ultimate goal for them," Riggs said. "We so far have been very pleased with the progress that many of these associates are making as they become strong leaders in the business unit. And we see five to 10 years from now, them having real potential to be influential leaders in our organization."
Lori Bruce, public relations manager for the Wawa, Pa.-based company, added, "What's unique to Wawa is a lot of people come here and at first, they might not intend to make it a career. Then they really fall in love with it and find a home."
Recent grads, participating in the college-graduate leadership program, also might be attracted to the company's loan-forgiveness program. They can be reimbursed up to $21,000 over a four-year period to pay back their student loans, as long as they remain in good standing with Wawa.
While the three programs have only been part of Wawa's repertoire for the past couple of years, the sentiment has been part of the company for at least 20 years, according to Bruce. "It's always been an important part of our culture, a commitment to higher learning and to education."
Riggs said that the company hopes to gain 10% of its general-manager-in-training candidates from the programs, but that it's too early to share the numbers at this point. "We're pleased with the number of unique visits that we have to the site. It's growing every day, and we're just continuing to monitor that," she said.
Other efforts involving college students include linking college websites to MyWawaCampus.com; company recruiting specialists that spend time at college job fairs, school seminars and resume workshops; and school handouts that have the website address printed on them.
Meanwhile, the company is hoping the website (click image) really helps get the word out. "This is really gearing the message to the college communities, with MyWawaCampus.com and these three programs in particular," Bruce said. "And the online presence is just a great way to connect with them. It makes it convenient and easier for them to have access to the information and the programs.... We're about convenience."
Wawa, based in Wawa, Pa., operates more than 560 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
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