RICHMOND, Va. –
Defense Logistics Agency Aviation’s Procurement Process Support Directorate’s Training Branch actively partners with colleges and universities in the Richmond, Virginia area to recruit students to participate in the DLA Pathways to Career Excellence (PaCE) Program.
PaCE trains entry-level employees for advancement in supply, technical quality, procurement and finance fields through on-the-job work assignments, cross-training, rotational assignments and formal instruction.
For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, the DLA Aviation employees in Richmond responsible for bringing in and training college students through PaCE, were able to visit several local universities and attend in-person recruiting fairs.
Thanks to the hard work of Senior Procurement Analyst Jennifer Deskins, DLA had a presence at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business in Richmond, Virginia’s Business Internship and Career Fair Sept. 20, and Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia’s Business and Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Career Expo Sept. 21.
During both events, a steady stream of students stopped by the DLA Aviation booth to learn more about possible career opportunities within the agency through PaCE.
Natarsha Goode, chief of the Procurement Process Support Directorate’s Training Branch, said recruiting new talent is an essential factor for any organization to promote growth, future leaders and help sustain a diversified workforce.
“We’ve been casting our net wide and getting the word out about the great employment opportunities at DLA.” She said. “While these were the first in-person college career fairs we’ve attended in several years, we intend to make this a regular tradition to attract great talent.”