Rend Lake College and Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA) are teaming up to offer students in the Industrial Electronics & Maintenance Technician (INEL) program a unique apprenticeship opportunity. Students who successfully complete the program and graduate from RLC will be in the running for a full-time position at CTA.
RLC students in any semester of the INEL associate degree program are invited to apply for the apprenticeship program. At CTA, students will work between 16 and 20 hours per week, earning $15 per hour, and gain hands-on experience working as a maintenance technician from experienced employees.
Christian Weber, Human Relations Generalist at CTA, explained the benefits for students who enroll in the program. In addition to being part-time staff with potential employment opportunities after graduation, CTA will also offer tuition reimbursement for RLC classes.
“We have employees who are retiring and Continental is looking for further investments. The plant is growing and we need to add trained people,” said Weber. “Once they graduate, we plan to hire them as full-time maintenance technicians.”
Weber continued to say the equipment at CTA is very complex and a lot of it runs on German software and codes. To pair INEL students with trained technicians for the real-world experience on this unique machinery helps CTA train their own future personnel.
“These students are learning the practical part of their job while they are going to school. This way, they are learning the practical part of their future profession and are making good money on the side,” said Weber. “We want to see them perform well. It’s a great program to be a part of.”
Students must have an ACT score of 20 or better, an overall GPA of 3.0 or better, three letters of recommendation, and be able to work weekends. For more information or to apply, contact Christian Weber at [email protected] or Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, 11525 N. Illinois Highway 142, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864.
