7 Reasons to Create an Internship Position Within Your Maintenance Department
It’s easy to think of internships as temporary positions. A student looking for hands-on training applies, and a company with the capacity to teach them answers the call. When the internship is over, they part ways. Right? It’s a simple concept, but it’s lacking proper culmination ― namely, the intern returning as a full-time employee to rise through the ranks of your company.
It’s time to start thinking about interns beyond the temporary time you spend with them. Instead, look to the future. Investing the time and effort into a budding young professional is a direct path to cultivating a well-qualified, loyal workforce. It’s essential in an industry plagued with demand and not enough talent to go around.
Manufacturing faces a dearth of talent. Competition to land qualified workers is steep. But the problem is the same for up-and-coming talent. Finding a job is difficult without experience, but getting experience necessitates a job. Manufacturers and job candidates are stuck in their own never-ending loops!
Creating an internship is the way to break that loop. Not only does it provide current students and budding professionals the experience they need, it also develops a hiring pathway for companies seeking talent. Take a look at some of the ways an internship benefits both parties:
- Exposure to qualified candidates. Putting a job posting up online immediately puts companies in direct competition with dozens of others for available talent. An internship carves out a unique opportunity for manufacturers to get exposure to candidates before they officially enter the workforce.
- Develop rapport with young workers. Working with budding professionals before they enter the job force is an opportunity to develop rapport. Interns get a strong sense of your company’s mission and values, which can persuade them to take a position after their internship as they grow attached to your brand.
- Pressure-free introduction to the job force. The primary job of an intern is to learn. That means they’re not thrust into a position to fail at an internship. Instead, they get the chance to learn and grow in a stress-free environment where they have responsibility, but not enough to cause harm to the company.
- Gauge the capabilities of potential hires. Because an intern is “hired” for a specified time period, it also serves as an evaluation period. Interns have a chance to prove themselves, while employers get to gauge whether they’re equipped with the skills for the job. It’s a no-risk, insightful arrangement for both parties.
- Train hires before they’re hired. Hiring new employees comes with days, even weeks of training. An intern has the ability to go through all of this, meaning they’re ready to slide right into the rotation when they’re hired, save for a few formalities. It’s a truly quick solution to staffing a qualified tech on the factory floor.
- Create hiring pipeline. When one intern leaves, another can take their place. A hiring pipeline is invaluable in today’s manufacturing environment. It ensures new grads have ample employment opportunity and establishes your factory as a reputable employer.
- Mold good habits and mindsets. Employees with previous experience come with habits and tendencies that may not fit your factory. Interns are brand new, ready to be molded. Working with interns ensures they’re taught right, to develop good habits and mindsets.
There are critics who say training interns is a waste of time, or that it’s difficult to evaluate talent that’s untrained and still learning. Sure, there are risks to hiring interns. But they’re risks that can be managed away and remedied with the right approach.
The benefits of working with interns far outweighs the cost. Especially in today’s manufacturing environment, getting an internship program up and running is invaluable.
