ITT program builds talent pipeline

Participants in the ITT Golden Gear Academy take part in a debate contest in Beijing. The academy offers training, scholarships and internships to college students. [Provided to China Daily]

Manufacturing giant plans to roll out staff training model worldwide

ITT Corp, the United States manufacturing conglomerate, has completed a two-month pilot education program in Beijing aimed at helping cultivate the city's next generation of top engineers.

The initiative, the ITT Golden Gear Academy, offered training, scholarships and internships and has been jointly organized with the Youth League Committee of Science and Technology Daily, and TusPark Co Ltd, which was responsible for developing, building, operating and administering Tsinghua University Science Park.

Of the 70 students who took part, 32 received certificates of completion from the academy.

Luo Qinghong, head of the Golden Gear and an executive director of ITT China, said China's engineering manufacturing sector is currently facing a shortage of talent, and the company hopes the program can encourage many more students at the start of their future careers.

"We are not afraid of talent moving jobs, but any outflows from the sector are a bad thing," said Luo.

According to local authority figures in Beijing, the city's manufacturing industry is currently being hit hard by a lack of qualified staff.

Luo said ITT now hopes to establish an international engineering education platform to inspire future passion in the sector and is calling on society to cultivate more interest in the career.

The pilot program is being considered a blueprint for a wider global philanthropy initiative by ITT, which will see similar initiatives rolled out in its other key markets. Luo said the company also plans to expand the project to other universities in China.

"More than 60 percent of ITT's revenue comes from the markets outside of the United States, which makes it natural for the company to give more attention on talent cultivation in big markets such as China," he said.

"The company is not only taking on social responsibility, but industry and global responsibilities."

During the pilot program, the students attended lectures given by senior executives from the company and professors from universities.

"The sessions were about issues such as business startups, and development and future potential of the engineering manufacturing industry, which we don't learn from textbooks," said Guo Chao, 22, a student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Guo led a team of students during the project and received a scholarship for his performance, in particular on an innovation competition, held as part of the program.

Of the 70 participants, 17 were awarded scholarships by ITT and a select few will be offered internships in the company.

"I would love to get that opportunity after gaining a deeper understanding about the company's culture and the industry," Guo said.

He said the program taught some theory, which was important, but the practical elements they were taught were more valuable in that they were forced to find solutions for real problems.

Guo and team member Wang Jing－also 22 and at the Chinese Academy of Sciences－were tasked with designing a sightseeing bus for an amusement park during the competition.

Through communicating with their lecturers, the two found out exactly what the market needs and designed the bus accordingly.

Yang Jing, youth league secretary of Science and Technology Daily, said this type of educational initiative will remain popular, but only if the curriculum and teaching methods remain attractive to students.

"Manufacturing companies such as ITT have a very precise understanding of the demands put on young talent," said Yang.

"They have the ability to promote the integration of education with production, and can promote engineering and manufacturing in an appealing way to young people."