[August 29, 2014]LINCOLN - Platform Staffing Group,
provider of IT consultants to various industries across the
industrial spectrum, has partnered with the University of Illinois’s
top 5 engineering program and Fortune 100 companies to create an
internship program unparalleled to any other.
Established in 2012, the prestigious internship program has
played a part in developing and nurturing some of the youngest and
most advanced leadership professionals in the technology engineering
industry. This program is unique from traditional internships in
that it provides an opportunity for hire upon graduation, therefore
reducing the number of independent contractors the company needs to
hire in favor of fully trained full time employees.
The program was created in part to address the issue of the skills
gap in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields
(STEM), which continues to expand as aging baby boomers, which make
up 11% of the total workforce, inch closer to retirement. According
to Microsoft, more than 120,000 computing positions are created in
the U.S. each year, with only 40,000 bachelor’s degrees being earned
in computer science (Dice News). “It is more important than ever to
have young people educated in STEM in order to step up and take
those jobs that are being left vacant,” said Mark Harrison, Managing
Partner of Platform Staffing. “The internship program gives us the
opportunity to find consultants and complete projects for companies
that have been experiencing backlog from the shortage of experienced
and available professionals.”
Millennials and Gen Y, expected to
make up half of the workforce by 2020, are much sought after by
companies looking to adopt programs like Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).
This group of future leaders craves knowledge and continual learning
and development through mentorship programs and feedback. The
outsourcing of work to offshore facilities has played a part in
backlog of projects, making this internship program a perfect fit
for companies and students alike.
Many students who participate in the program continue on to
work for the employer, gaining knowledge and skills that set
them heads above the rest of their graduating classmates. The
program continues to build the base of talented individuals
within an organization, setting it up for future success and
leadership. The partnership allows for the successful completion
of projects on behalf of the Fortune 100 company and a chance
for students and the future of the STEM workforce to gain
valuable knowledge and real-world experience, skills highly
sought after by companies looking to recruit the Millennial
workforce.
For more information on partnering with Platform Staffing Group
and U of I, please contact us at 630-506-5606 or info@platformstaffing.com
[Text received; BRIAN JAMESON,on
behalf of PLATFORM STAFFING AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS]
About Platform Staffing
Platform Staffing Group brings over 25 years of experience to the
Information Technology staffing space, providing consultants in
Infrastructure, Data Management and Systems Development. Our mission
is simple: to provide unprecedented value to our customers by
providing superior IT consultants at a fair market rate. We
understand business, we understand technology, and we understand
people.
