As the manufacturing workforce is getting older it is important that manufacturers evolve and seek a variety of approaches in order to attract our younger populations into the manufacturing industry. Research has proven that when students are able to participate in hands-on experiences they are more likely to follow their projected career path, hence the reason why internships play a key role in increasing your future workforce.
“Toyota really helped me get out of my comfort zone and over my shyness which I honestly didn’t think was possible. Everything you do within Toyota is teamwork, getting to comprehend the way others think and working together really expanded my way of thinking.” -Sharon Velazquez, ATMA Alamo Academies Senior, Memorial High School
Reasons to Start an Internship Program:
- Find future employees. Internships play an integral part of your recruitment process by creating a pipeline.
- Increases your visibility on college campuses. Students will share their experiences with classmates which in return will increase your potential employee interest pool.
- Test-drive the talent. This is a great way to evaluate a potential employees technical skills and talents without making the full investment first-hand.
- Increase productivity. Interns can increase your productivity by helping
your full-time staff avoid becoming overburdened by side projects and helping them focus on higher-level projects. - Enhance perspective. Student interns can bring a fresh perspective as well as diverse set of strengths and skills.
- Give back to the community. Hiring interns enhances your local workforce as a whole.
- Close the skills gap. Real-world experience in an internship provides students with the development and skills needed for employment post graduation.
- Foster leadership skills in current employees. Mentoring and guiding others often motivates employees to hold themselves more accountable and become effectiv
e leaders. In this way, adding interns to your company can enhance and multiply leadership.
e leaders. In this way, adding interns to your company can enhance and multiply leadership.“This experience with them (Toyota) taught me the importance of continuous improvement or Kaizen. The industry of advance manufacturing is always changing and I got to see firsthand as they were adding new machines to prepare team members for upcoming improvement to the plant floor.” -Johnathan Barron, ATMA Alamo Academies Senior, McCollum High School
Manufacturing companies offer a wide range of career paths, from hands-on operations to design engineering. Gaining intern experience can help students focus their education and interests and grow our future workforce. If you are interested in hosting an Alamo Academies student intern, please reach out to Industry Liaison, Anna Villarreal at avillarreal423@alamo.edu
Resources:
Dowell, Earlene K.P. “Manufacturing Faces a Labor Shortage as Workforce Ages,” November 17, 2020. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/11/manufacturing-faces-labor-shortage-as-workforce-ages.html
“14 Benefits of Starting an Internship Program for Your Company,” August 8, 2019. https://www.internships.com/employer/resources/setup/benefits
