Executive Summary

One of the biggest challenges the precast industry faces today is the need to recruit new talent within the industry. Internships have proven to be one of the most effective ways this critical task can be accomplished. The reasons for this success include:

·  The employer is able to observe the future employee’s performance in his or her own environment which is not possible when a person is hired directly from the industry or universities.

·  The employer is able to see how the individual interacts with the existing management team and the rest of the workforce.

·  The employer is able to see how quickly the individual adapts to his or her specific role within the company.

·  The employer is able to determine if the candidate is a proper fit before a long-term hiring decision is made and valuable resources are spent in hiring a potentially unsuitable candidate.

·  Most importantly, management is able to identify the future potential of the candidate.

In order to take full advantage of an internship, the employer must be prepared to provide company-wide opportunities for the intern. This means that a detailed internship training program must be developed to expose the candidate to all aspects of the business. The downside to this is that the intern is not able to fill an immediately needed role within the organization. Instead, the intern is able to contribute in several areas of the organization at a lesser extent.

An alternate approach to offering a “general” internship is to identify a specific role (such as a quality control technician) for the intern before they are hired. Next, develop an eight- or ten-week internship program that focuses on that specific role. The internship then addresses all responsibilities of a quality control technician. This approach allows for a more focused training program for the intern. Upon completion, the intern is ready to assume the position and able to make immediate contributions in day-to-day operations as a full-time employee.

Regardless of the approach a company adopts, the benefits of an internship program are extremely high. The precast industry must wholeheartedly adopt this model and invest appropriate resources in creating a viable internship program that serves as a pipeline to provide highly qualified employees who have demonstrated that they are interested in the precast industry and are a great fit.