Bidwell Training Center Employer Partner Spotlight: U.S. Steel
March 4, 2021 3:30 pm
Bidwell Training Center's employer partnerships help their students to achieve long-term career success.
By collaborating with industry leaders such as U.S. Steel, Bidwell Training Center (BTC) creates a talent pipeline.
In 2017, BTC reached out to David Williams, U.S. Steel Technical Manager, Product Testing and Characterization Team, and explained the benefits of an employer partnership with the company.
"I agreed that it was an excellent opportunity and a great recruitment," says Williams, "The partnership would allow us to get to know the students before considering them to become full-time team members."
The partnership consists of a training program that allows BTC's Chemical Laboratory Technician students to complete their required externship with U.S. Steel. After completing their externship, there is a possibility of U.S. Steel selecting them to become contractors and eventually full-time employees.
"That's the ultimate destination," says Williams," We use their performance while completing their externship to determine if they are a good fit and can work with our customers."
David Williams
U.S. Steel Technical Manager,
Product Testing and Characterization Team
Program Success
Since the first class of BTC externs participated in the partnership back in the Fall of 2018, Williams reports that U.S. Steel has acquired a total of six BTC graduates – four contractors and two full-time employees.
"It's a great program, and the success of it has impressed a lot of people at U.S. Steel," says Williams, "When we hire a BTC student, we know we are getting a polished student who understands professionalism and what it takes to succeed."
Williams also says that all of the BTC students he has encountered are exceptionally resilient individuals. He says their team-approach to success and ability to leverage diversity amongst their peers to achieve their goals makes them top job candidates.
"I recall one memory with a particular BTC student, who is now a full-time employee with us. We gave him a very challenging project that our company had been working on for quite some time," says Williams, "I remember him saying that he was intimidated by the amount of work, but in the end, he buckled down and relied on what he learned from BTC. He eventually built on the project and developed new leads for us."
Looking Towards the Future
Williams believes the successful partnership between U.S. Steel and BTC is a nod to their shared value of working with and investing in their communities for the future.
Williams also acknowledges the tremendous efforts of Dr. Kim Rassau, BTC's Executive Director; Mark Kriss, BTC's Chemical Laboratory Technician Program Director and Tiaona Cade, BTC's Career Services Coordinator.
"They are all great to work with, and everyone has a very innovative approach to helping their students overcome any challenges and be successful," says Williams. "Their two-pronged approach of building technical and professional skills makes their students career-ready."
BTC and U.S. Steel feel confident that their employer partnership will continue to grow and look forward to working together for years to come.
Learn more about U.S. Steel by visiting their website.