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National Manufacturing Day: Utz, Snyder's-Lance tours teach students about Hanover-area jobs


The Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its community's manufacturers this week, taking students from local schools to businesses and showing them the career opportunities available in the Hanover area.

As part of this effort, students from South Western and Hanover high schools visited Utz Quality Foods and Snyder's-Lance on Wednesday, learning about the manufacturing side of the business, as well as various job options.

The goal of National Manufacturing Day, which is on Friday and in its fourth year, is to inspire the next generation of manufacturers, according to the chamber.

Locally, it is to have students come back to Hanover to work, whether they get a job right out of school or go off to college before returning to the area, said chamber President Gary Laird.

"We want our students to come back here with our solid manufacturing community," Laird said. "We want to make that connection."

In the future, the group hopes to bring students to more businesses.

Wednesday at Utz, the students went on a tour of the facilities followed by a discussion session, where employees talked about the importance of all the business's sections — finances, environmental health and safety science, food science and sales.

"Being part of the community is bringing in school kids," said Steven Kerr, human resources manager at Utz Quality Foods on High Street. "We try to give kids the opportunity to check out our different careers, like those in sales and graphic design."

Several students said they were surprised by the variety of jobs available.

"I didn't know what was in Utz, I thought it was just people making chips and standing around a machine," said Tylor Heller, a senior at South Western High School.

"I might come back and shadow a worker," he added.

Another South Western student, Robby Harbison learned about a new career he didn't know was available.

"I would get a job here," he said. "I'd like to work on the trucks; it's interesting."

Harbison said he plans to go to college but would like come back to the area afterward.

The recognition of manufacturing businesses will continue Friday at Snyder's-Lance Research and Development Center on York Street in Penn Township.

It will bring business leaders, superintendents and local legislators together to discuss what can continue to be done in the community to strengthen the relationship between business and education, Laird said.