Sen. Tim Kaine visits CabinetWorks, discusses JOBS Act

SHENANDOAH COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - Issues in the workforce was the topic for Senator Tim Kaine and CabinetWorks’ plant in Mount Jackson.

CabinetWorks says it has been able to drop its turnover rate from 52 to 20 percent in the last year. The staff has seen proven results that talking things through makes the difference in not having employment struggles.

“We talk about our production the day before a day after so the biggest part that I’ve had to say about mandating a good, solid workforce and moving this plant forward is the engagement of all cabinet employees regardless of what they do here,” CabinetWorks Plant Manager Richard Sine said.

Senator Tim Kaine’s JOBS Act would allow the Pell Grant, a subsidy to pay for college tuition and books, to be used for job training.

Kaine has long advocated for Virginia’s workers and job training programs, and he says touring facilities shows that the Jobs act is needed.

“Yes, we have continuous hiring needs but an awful lot of employers in Virginia saying ‘I can’t hire anybody,’ which means that they’re probably doing pretty well on the recruiting and on the training side. That’s positive but we need more skills training and we gotta make it affordable for people to get it and that’s how the JOBS Act really helps,” Sen. Tim Kaine said.

Sine shared CabinetWorks has grown to be a bilingual community in the last two years. Even with hurdles in the workforce, the manufacturing company says it is working to create a solid workplace.

“Cabinets are a part of the American fabric here for jobs. Not only do we help we have jobs that we create here they create jobs within the community. I think that we providing paths for young people with what we do and what we have to offer. As we grow this company we’ll provide even more,” Sine said.

Sine said embracing diverse industries is key to workforces expanding.

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