Students need experience. Businesses need up and coming talent. Funded via the Labs for Industry Futures and Transformation (LIFT) Initiative and READI grants, as well as through company salary matching, the Regional Internship Program brings together students from regional colleges and universities to internships at local companies focused on advanced industries such as technology, manufacturing, data science and analytics, supply chain or logistics management, and research and development.

Marshall County’s ITAMCO has participated in the Regional Internship Program since its inception. The company manufactures gears and splines for mining, oil, gas and defense industries. According to Matt Davis, Manager of Training and Organizational Development at ITAMCO, the internship program is a key component to the company’s talent development.

“I think they’re very well educated. I think at times the real-world application – it is all new to them,” Davis said. “Coming back the second year, it gets to be much more beneficial to both parties. They definitely have a lot of good skill sets. Many times in the engineering world, you can design something and draw it, but if you can’t actually manufacture it, it’s just not possible. So, there’s still learning different concepts and then again you might design something that sounds great or seems awesome but if the operator can’t use it well and have it function well for them, it’s not a benefit. The communication side of things is one of the big things I think they walk away at the end – how to work better with rest of the team.”

Rilye Cox was one of the first interns at ITAMCO through the Regional Internship Program. He returned to intern with the company for a second year and was hired on full-time. He interned with the engineering department and is now learning the entire works of the shop floor. The plan is he will eventually move to the sales team with a broad knowledge of the business.

“I really liked the company; it reminded me of a small family-owned shop where everyone knows everyone and has good relationships,” said Cox. “My focus when looking for a job was how were the relationships during the workday and this company stood out to me in that category. The growth of the company when I was working here was another big factor when figuring out where I wanted to work.”

The program subsidizes half of the wages of up to two approved internship positions for each employer partner, reimbursing up to $2,500 per intern. Another $1,250 may be awarded to companies that hire candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, or who re-hire former Regional Internship Program interns. Since the program’s pilot year in 2021, nearly $220,000 in funding has been disbursed for 104 internships with 54 unique companies in the South Bend – Elkhart region. Interns participating in this program earned an average wage of $20/hour, worked an average of 400 hours, and earned an average of $8,000.

“The reimbursement is huge,” said Davis. “It definitely cuts your commitment. You know we want to bring high wage jobs to the area but to pay somebody out of school that has maybe never had any experience can be a risk. They have been a lot of help for us. We really have enjoyed having the interns. The process of getting reimbursed is very easy.”

The Regional Internship Program offers preference to internships where no more than 20 percent of responsibilities would be considered clerical or administrative. Davis says ITAMCO mainly hires interns to work in engineering and computer science.

“The web developers have had the chance to work on our own internal iOS application and web development,” Davis said. “The engineers have been able to work on drawings, different tooling and fixturing, and creating some different items.”

Cox enjoyed his time as an intern, and felt he was able to make a significant contribution.

“My intern experience was very good here at ITAMCO,” said Cox. “I had a lot of projects that stood out over the two years, but the one that stood out the most was learning how to program machines. My focus or programming was in the Lathe department as I worked with another engineer on how to program, but that that project was fun and challenging.”

Click here for more information on the Regional Internship Program.