Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1531663
44 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2025 ing management system soware to modern- ize tools and make sure our interns are exposed to what they need to know. We have created courses. We check their work. ere are things they simply don't know that catch some of us by surprise. It's not bad that they don't know. ey ask, and you get to explain it. As an indus- try and employers, we must stop taking for granted that everyone knows certain things that there was never been any course for. e learning platform helps us bridge that gap and get everyone on the same page to ground zero. It is difficult for long-time industry veterans to understand what ground zero looks like anymore. We train by what I call the sheepherder-younger brother training course, meaning, "Here's the staff, there's the sheep. Water them every day and when they've eaten the grass, move them someplace else and keep the wolves away. All right, now you're on your own." For decades, we le our employees alone to figure it out. at might have been okay when it was a surface mount, and we had one lami- nation cycle, but not for HDI. For us old tim- ers, we just had to learn one new thing at a time: impedance, HDI, laser drill. Today, you must know all of it right away. We need better training tools. Yes, but unfortunately, we had fewer slots than people to choose from. Another rewarding part of the program for us was being inspired by our interns, particularly as we watched their excitement at solving problems. Every week, we would meet to review their progress. We would ask, "What did they learn and how can we use that in our company?" at was a big part of the success of the internship program. It's been beneficial for our interns to work in a real environment, to contribute and genu- inely help a company make decisions and solve problems. ey should feel good about those accomplishments, and it's been very reward- ing on our end. ey really inspired those of us who got to work with them. What would you say to other companies considering an internship program? You must give your interns something concrete to do, and it should be meaningful—something that aligns with their studies and will be an accomplishment that gives them some bene- fit going forward. It has to be a two-way street. I'm guessing you recommend getting involved with IPC Education Foundation to leverage their connections to universities and the other tools they offer. Yes. I always tell our engineering students to study the IPC rules on designing a printed cir- cuit board. If they follow those rules, design their first board, and it works the first time, heads will snap all around them. at never hap- pens because their education is designed around them creating a first PCB that fails so they can learn from their mistakes and immediately go to revision 2. But if you follow the rules and can hit it out of the park the first time, everyone will notice. You have the opportunity and the tools before you. You just have to study the rules and learn them. Take advantage of this opportunity. It sounds like Summit has nailed it. Gerry, thanks for sharing about your program. Happy to share our experience, Marcy. PCB007 " It's been beneficial for our interns to work in a real environment, to contribute and genuinely help a company make decisions and solve problems. " Would you say that you've been successful in filling Summit's workforce pipeline after the internships are completed?