When you hear the word “internship” you may have a preconceived notion of shuffling papers, endless filing or even going out for coffee – all for no money. Would you be interested in a career that has great earning potential with a high school, associate or college degree? Would you like hands on learning and be paid for your work? Welcome to the world of manufacturing. If you have an open mind, we have an open door.

It’s hard to describe our internship program because we haven’t met you yet! We don’t follow the usual agenda of fitting individuals into an off-the-shelf package. We design an internship experience that is customized to fit each person’s needs as well as ours. Here are a few examples of internships we’ve put together for talented individuals.

Traditional Paid Summer Internships
In conjunction with the University of Dayton, last year we initiated our first three-month engineering intern program. Combining design experience and hands-on time with the press brake (metal forming) department, the project was such a success that the intern was offered a job in December. He accepted. It was our first hiring of its kind.

Our new college intern, who is going into his junior year at Notre Dame in the fall, is working this summer in our quality lab. He is on track for a mechanical engineering degree. Our hope is he will be back next summer in a different department to gain even more experience.

Part Time/Junior College Mix
Current employees sometimes go back to school to gain more education or to learn a new specialty. An operator from our machining department decided to gain his CNC certificate at College of Lake County (CLC). Not only is he becoming a more valuable employee, he may eventually go on to pursue an engineering degree. Right now he is attending classes full time and working for us on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

Cross Train for New Skill Sets
A press brake operator with two years on the job inquired about more responsibility. After it was suggested that he go back to school for additional skills, including blueprint reading or machining principles, he ultimately decided to focus on CNC machining. We helped him get enrolled at CLC for the fall evening semester, beginning a 16-credit program to be certified as a CNC operator. He will split his time in the press brake department, his current expertise, and the machining department. In machining he will get hands-on experience to complement his studies. With dual skills, he will be a well-rounded employee with the ability to shift from one position to another and eliminate bottlenecks in either department as “hot” jobs come into the shop. It’s a win-win situation.

On-The-Job Training
Another worker from our machining department just graduated from Grant High School. He went to the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus for one year and took welding classes. He will be working for us full time and we will be training him from the ground up. He has no machining experience, but he has been exposed to it at a young age – his grandfather owned a machine shop. But we’ve also trained baristas and lawn care workers. If you have a strong work ethic – we can teach you the tech.

Picture Yourself Here
We have opportunities for students who can’t see themselves sitting behind a desk, who like working with their hands, love tinkering with machinery or just like the idea of starting their careers debt-free. Come in for a tour and see what a modern fabrication shop looks like. We’d love to see what kind of experience we can build around you.