Flexware Tackling Indiana’s Manufacturing Skills Gap with the Trailblazer Fellowship
According to IndustryWeek,
Manufacturing workers are retiring in droves, with an estimated 2.7 million jobs being vacated by 2025. At the same time, the growth and advancement of the industry is expected to create an additional 700,000 jobs for skilled manufacturing employees over the next decade. As a result, manufacturers are scrambling to fill this knowledge and skills deficit with the next generation of workers — millennials.”
Our Mission to Tackle the Manufacturing Skills Gap
The Flexware team, as part of its mission to keep manufacturing engineering talent in Indiana, has spent the last three years creating and improving “the ultimate engineering summer internship experience”, called The Trailblazer Fellowship. Our mission is to find and develop the next generation of manufacturing leadership.
About the Trailblazer Fellowship
This summer marked our third year of launching the Trailblazer Fellowship program. We had another wonderful summer with talented engineering students from both Purdue University and Rose-Hulman.
The Trailblazer Fellowship is a 12-week summer internship experience that pairs top engineering students with top manufacturing companies in the mid-west. The immersion experience includes:
- professional development training,
- building a peer network with other talented students,
- and mentoring by the manufacturing company and Flexware professionals.
The 2017 Trailblazer Interns
1. Cason Robbins
1. Cason Robbins- Purdue University
- Major: Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology
- Junior (’18)
- Projects: Reviewed RSLogix 5000 PLC programs, electrical diagrams, and equipment manuals. Evaluated an Arc Flash Safety Analysis and Coordination Study using EasyPower in order to increase factory safety and equipment up-time. Studied the complete operation and control system of a shrink packer
2. Curtis Teter
2. Curtis Teter- Purdue University
- Major: Mechanical Engineering Technology
- Junior (’18)
- Projects: This summer I worked on mechanical design, documentation, and restructuring of the HMI for the in house demonstration called the FlexFactory as well as projects with the business intelligence team at Flexware. The final three weeks of the summer, I ventured into 3D laser scanning at Riley Hospital with a local 3D laser scanning company.
3. Delaney Sunbury
3. Delaney Sunbury- Purdue University
- Major: Mechanical Engineering
- Sophomore (’19)
- Project: Worked at a local metal manufacturer with their engineering team to design CAD drawings for medical trays for tools used in operation rooms
4. Denis Ulybyshev
4. Denis Ulybyshev- Purdue University
- Major: Computer Science
- PhD
- Projects: Developed meeting room reservation system integrated into Ignition SCADA system. Developed FMEA project for battery manufacturing
5. Lauren Sailor
5. Lauren Sailor- Purdue University
- Major: Mechanical Engineering
- Freshman (’20)
- Projects: The projects that I worked on were very diverse, ranging from market research and training for a high altitude balloon launch to creating 3D models and 2D drawings in various CAD programs, and with working onsite at two client companies in addition to Flexware, I was able to work with many different people and experience several company cultures.
6. Michael Wilkins
6. Michael Wilkins- Rose-Hulman
- Major: Computer Engineering
- Sophomore(’19)
- Projects: Completed project-based design work for the company’s Business Intelligence team. Developed a full-stack BI database solution analyzing employee and revenue data. Designed an innovative RFID tracking solution to repair a malfunctioning inventory locating system
7. Sam Javed
7. Sam Javed- Purdue University
- Major: Computer Science
- Freshman (’20)
- Project: During my third summer at Flexware, I worked on an ASP.NET web application called SlickSub that allowed contractors to track their jobs and the employees/subcontractors performing the jobs. The database for the project was written in SQL and the frontend was done with C#, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Needless to say, I gained a tremendous amount of experience in software development in the span of three short months.
8. Willie Ratekin
8. Willie Ratekin- Purdue University
- Major: Electrical Engineering Technology
- Sophomore(’19)
- Project: Worked with another intern to create an asset tracking solution for a client in Illinois using RFID technology, C# .NET, and SQL Server
2017 Trailblazer Testimonials
Working for Flexware Innovation as a Trailblazer intern is a unique and rewarding experience. Not only did Flexware take the time to introduce me to new concepts I hadn’t pursued before, such as creating a service in C# based around RFID technology, but they also care enough about their employees to help develop them personally and professionally. The professional development days were great, whether it was getting exposure to various facilities and industries Flexware works with, or sitting down with several admin level employees receiving advice from them on resumes, interviewing, or our personal LinkedIn profiles.”
From automation to business intelligence, Flexware gave me the opportunity to explore work in many different areas. It was a summer of trying new things and learning what I want and don’t want to do. Flexware is a unique internship where you not only get work experience but also build relationships, and develop professionally. Flexware spends time to make you a better employee by teaching you essential skills such as writing a resume, conducting yourself in an interview, and making good business decisions. It is a company that cares about their people. From day one I felt like part of the team and that I was working on something helpful to the company.”
Interested in Becoming a Trailblazer Next Summer?
We will be at the following career fairs recruiting for next summer’s Trailblazers:
- Purdue Industrial Roundtable: September 13, 2017
- Rose-Hulman Career Fair: October 4, 2017
If you are interested in being a Trailblazer, please visit our booth. If you can’t make it, click here to fill out the Trailblazer application.
Interested in Becoming a Manufacturing Host Company?
Click here to learn more. You can also reach out to me directly at matt.heiden@flexwareinnovation.com.
Director of Talent Management
Proud father of two. Golf enthusiast. Enjoy creating new connections.
