Aisin Manufacturing Illinois (AMI) has recently partnered with local schools in Galatia and Eldorado to develop a work study program. Select high school students have been placed in various departments to help familiarize them to the manufacturing world. Our hope is that this program will help students gain valuable work experience, and that the real-world experiences they are exposed to will contribute to their transition plans as they prepare for adulthood. The selected high school Junior and Senior students work Monday through Friday for a maximum of 4 hours a day. These students are trained on processes that manufacture sunroof and outside door handle components. They work side-by-side our trained staff of team members as we help to provide practical work and career-related experiences.
The students were provided an orientation and dojo experience, just like that of which we provide to our normal new hires. Our dojo helps to identify their skills so that the students are placed in positions that can take advantage of their natural skills such as time-management, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity. For high school students, it’s important to expose them to new experiences that help to give them an idea of what they want to do after high school. This work study program does just that— students are given a firsthand look at the working community so they can better understand how they’d like to be involved and the responsibilities related to their job/career placement.