Building this internship program with assistance from FastLane and the Ohio MEP, has supported our expansion and the growth we are seeing in our organization. I’m really excited to be able to hire even more interns from those who will graduate this year. Long term, this program will create a pipeline to fill all our positions.
The internship program allowed Yaskawa Motoman to create a pipeline of employees. Yaskawa originally thought that it would take five years to build a talent pipeline that would bring them 10 full-time employees, but their return on investment came much quicker than they had expected. Their first group of interns began working in the summer of 2022 and by May of 2023 Yaskawa had hired 10 students.
The benefits from their internship program expand beyond the company. The interns gain valuable workforce skills, learn about a variety of manufacturing careers, and get the opportunity for full time employment after their internship. Interns also get connected to other Yaskawa employees in the fields they are interested in, to fully comprehend what the day-to-day life in that specific career looks like, which has enabled these students to make better career choices for themselves.