Connect with JASPER, a comprehensive internship program, was started three years ago as an attempt to "connect" with current college students by giving them a well-rounded internship over the summer months. So what does this mean? If we want to attain our goal of being the "Employer of Choice", we must educate our youth on the opportunities available at JASPER. If a college student doesn't realize what job opportunities are available, what's to keep them from going elsewhere?
This program is an 11 week internship that gives 8 college students the chance to learn about remanufacturing, gain valuable lean tools, learn a wide array of life skills and get a chance to create a community service project. All of this is intended to shape our youth by giving them the knowledge they need to succeed in business and more importantly, LIFE.
Connect with JASPER begins with a week in our DOJO Training Center focusing on the history of Jasper Engines & Transmissions, our culture and hands-on skills necessary in remanufacturing.
The team then commence upon a 10 week journey that has them learning and applying workshop principles. These include: creating standards, eliminating hard work, designing intuitive work spaces and leaving the Team Leader of the area doable work.
Along with these tools the team gets a chance to learn very important life skills, such as: how to set up a loan, service a vehicle, save for retirement and what benefits really mean. We also challenge them with a book review and pair them up with a mentor from an area that relates to their current studies.
If that isn't enough, they get to learn about philanthropy and decide on a community service project they can work on together as a team. We have had 14 interns graduate from this program and several have decided to return to JASPER. The next group of interns will actually be led by a former team member. It is our hope that we can continue to grow this program as we move forward into the future!