Pearson Packaging Systems developed an internship program 10 years ago. It has been the most effective way to hire entry level engineers or professionals in areas like Marketing, Human Resources, Purchasing and Project Management. We hire up to 5 interns each Summer regardless of production volumes. We use this opportunity to evaluate work ethic, teamwork, initiative, attention to detail and customer interactions. The student completes a variety of projects from design, research, data analytics, software implementation, machine building, programming and customer follow up. If I look at my engineering organization many have developed from the intern program, and now work in Senior level engineering roles. Only 25% of our interns ever become full time employees, but it is our goal to give them experience and create a positive impression of our Company. You never know when our paths my cross in the future. We believe in the concept Pay to Learn! It is a cost effective way to source entry level candidates, and we have experienced higher retention rates of employees who started as an Intern. The internship toolkit would have made my life so much easier if we had it when I started our Intern program. I encourage business to embrace the process, tools and support you will receive from the Spokane WorkSource staff.