Sulzer finds engineering talent with summer intern programme

As one of the providers of maintenance and repair solutions for customers in the oil and gas, water and power generation industries, Sulzer is keen to maintain its excellent knowledge base and also prepare talented engineering students for the transition into their professional lives. The company has always understood the importance of nurturing young talent, but now it has created a dedicated programme which has been designed to ensure that the interns receive the most productive experience possible, whilst also adding value to the departments in which they work.

Alexei Bushunow, who helped to start the new intern programme, said: “It’s no secret that not many young people are choosing to study engineering at university, which is making it harder to find good people. We wanted to create an exciting internship opportunity which would help to show students what sort of opportunities are available in engineering whilst also allowing us to identify the most promising students who would be able to add value to our business in the long term.

“Senior management were extremely keen to develop a structured program as they understand the importance of supporting students as they begin their career. In fact, many of the senior engineers and management team members at Sulzer, including our President, started out as interns here.”

The selection process begins with Sulzer promoting the programme at career fairs after which the most promising students are invited to attend an Intern Day at Sulzer. On average, ten interns are selected and placed in different departments throughout Sulzer’s turbomachinery, electromechanical and pumps product lines. Each intern starts by working on the shop floor, where they gain some hands-on experience. This is then applied to a project that requires them to use their engineering knowledge whilst developing their commercial understanding. At the end of the 12 week programme each of the interns makes a presentation to senior and departmental managers.

Alexei continued: “Everyone I’ve spoken to felt that the programme was a positive experience for the business, not just the interns. Having enthusiastic and talented students working in our production sites adds value. The standard of the interns was extremely high and the programme has led to several offers of full time employment.”

The Sulzer summer intern programme will be running on a regular basis, offering students the chance to develop commercial experience within an engineering environment. Sulzer will be visiting universities to promote the programme; however, if you’d like to learn more about this opportunity, please get in touch with Sulzer to find out how to apply.