JAY — The Androscoggin Mill is partnering with Jay and Livermore Falls high schools and Kennebec Valley Community College to help qualifying students receive a college education and a job after graduation.
Verso Paper Corp. is rolling out a new program in the hope of awarding 10 full-tuition scholarships per year to KVCC to qualifying seniors from Jay and Livermore Falls high schools who are interested in an associate degree in pulp and paper technology.
Verso will also provide up to $500 more per year for books and other school-related expenses. In addition, the mill will offer employment during the educational process and after the degree is earned.
“Studies have shown that students graduating with an associate degree in pulp and paper technology were better prepared for the manufacturing environment and had an immediate impact on safety, operating efficiency and bottom line results,” Androscoggin Mill Human Resources Manager Mike Luciano said in a prepared statement.
“We are lagging behind our overseas competition in this strategic initiative, and we need to scramble to further educate our current work force and grow our future work force in order to remain an economic driver in the state of Maine,” he said.
Livermore Falls High School Director of Guidance Susanne Spalding said it’s a win-win situation for students and the mill.
“It’s a full package,” Spalding said. “They’re getting employment, a scholarship, a college education and a promise of future employment with a local company, which will keep kids close to their home community. That all makes this scholarship program very appealing.”
Scholarship recipients will be offered full-time summer employment following their high school graduation and between collegiate school years.
“The value of community partnerships and the supporting of the future of our students in our community is extremely important and valuable,” Jay school Superintendent Robert Wall said.
“I think that Verso has always been a partner in the community and also plays an important role in the economics of the area, as well,” Wall said. “It’s absolutely terrific to see this scholarship program get off the ground. The dimensions of the program are valuable for the future of our students and the paper-making industry.”
Upon completion of students’ degrees, Verso will offer them full-time employment with the company, once a position becomes available. Scholarship recipients must agree to work as full-time Verso employees for at least three years after they complete their degree.
“In order for the paper industry to excel, we need to be growing a technologically advanced work force,” Luciano said. “As the baby boomers continue to retire at an increasing rate, the knowledge gained from decades of working and on-the-job training passed down through generations is being lost. We need to quickly replace that knowledge with a future work force that combines the work ethic of the past with a technical education in the pulp and paper process.”
The Androscoggin Mill would like to expand the scholarship opportunity to other area high schools.
Verso also offers two $1,000 scholarships each year to students who live within a 50-mile radius of the Androscoggin Mill or who are children of Verso employees. These students must be pursuing a degree in chemical, mechanical or electrical engineering, or pulp and paper science from an accredited college.
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