Home : News & Events : MTC and ConAgra Foods to Partner for QuickStart Training

MTC and ConAgra Foods to Partner
for QuickStart Training


Front row, Carol Mathews, Vice-president of Economic Development at Moultrie Technical College, Tom Gentle, ConAgra Plant Manager, Marla Lowe, Executive Director of Economic Development Programs with the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. Second row, Bob Lytle, DTAE QuickStart Training Coordinator, Tonya Cooper, Director of Continuing Education at Moultrie Technical College, ConAgra union stewards Beatrice Roberts and Arthur Jefferson, and ConAgra production manager Jerry Cox.

Moultrie Tech and ConAgra Foods Announce QuickStart Training Initiative
Article and photo courtesy of Susan McCord of The Sylvester Local News 

SYLVESTER, GA.  An agreement was signed between ConAgra Foods, the Department of Technical and Adult Education and Moultrie Technical College on June 23 that will help get employees of the local peanut butter plant trained on new equipment.

The nationally-known "QuickStart" program designs free training for employees of qualified new and expanding businesses, as well as existing businesses in need of retraining, and that take advantage of local technical colleges' resources.

The two-year program is now under development, said Bob Lytle, project manager with DTAE for the ConAgra training project. "We've had a successful relationship so far. They've got some sophisticated equipment," said Lytle.

The training was a good fit with the large capital investment recently made in new packaging equipment, said plant manager Tom Gentle.

For a long time, only new or expanding businesses could take advantage of Quick Start, said Dr. Tina Anderson, President of Moultrie Technical College. "The government realized how important it was to keep existing businesses."

The change in technology and equipment at ConAgra qualified the company for existing industry training through DTAE’s QuickStart program.

"We are pleased to be working with ConAgra Foods," Anderson said. "Worth County is extremely important to us at Moultrie Technical College.”

"We're very excited about the program and happy to be able to have an existing industry retrain," said Marla Lowe, Executive Director for Economic Development Programs with DTAE. "I'm applauding your vision to do this."

Approximately 135 people are employed with ConAgra Foods in Sylvester, which produces all the nation's jars of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, and ConAgra is a major sponsor of the National Peanut Festival and Peter Pan Peanut Butter Parade, held each October in Sylvester.