Chrysler Group LLC was the big manufacturer on campus at Kettering University on Wednesday, as the Auburn Hills automaker revived the cooperative education program it curtailed in 2008 — one more sign that the company is on the rebound.
Chrysler executives explained the opportunities offered by their company to scores of incoming freshman. They also took along some of their hottest cars to show prospective candidates the sort of vehicles they could work on at the automaker's Auburn Hills headquarters.
"They look good. They look new," said Kevin George, an incoming freshman from Davison.
"I'm definitely applying for their co-op. Chrysler's back."
The automaker is taking on 16 co-op students from Kettering as part of a five-year program that will allow them to alternate full-time work at the company with full-time education at Kettering.
It is part of a broader push by Chrysler to step up recruitment on key campuses around the country.
"It's about attracting top talent," said Lisa Wicker, chief recruiter for the Chrysler Group. "We're moving forward."
More than 200 current Chrysler employees graduated from the Kettering program, including manufacturing vice president Byron Green.
"It prepares you for work after school. It prepares you to lead," he said. "That's what it did for me. And that's what it does for Chrysler: We're growing our future leaders."
But Chrysler halted its collaboration with Kettering in 2008, as it succumbed to the worst crisis to hit the automobile industry since the Great Depression. The company went bankrupt and was only saved by a government bailout and a marriage to Italy's Fiat SpA brokered by the Obama administration.
Chrysler began hiring again last summer, adding more than 6,000 new jobs — including more than 1,000 new engineering positions — since June 2010. And the company is still hiring.
University Provost Robert Simpson said Kettering is happy to have Chrysler back on campus.
"It's tremendous," he said. "We're reconnected with a major player in our community."
Kettering was founded by General Motors Co., and was known as General Motors Institute.
Now, however, the university works with a variety of companies. A specialty school with a focus on engineering, it offers a five-year program designed to give students real work experience, in addition to a degree. Most are also offered jobs by their sponsors once they graduate.
Students are paid for their work. Wages range from $12 to $15 an hour for freshmen to as high as $23 an hour for seniors. Many companies offer additional perks, such as housing. Chrysler would only say its package is "competitive."
GM remains Kettering's biggest corporate partner, sponsoring approximately 100 co-op students at the campus.
It cut back sharply after it followed Chrysler into bankruptcy, but GM never eliminated the program entirely.
"It was something we felt pretty strongly about, so it was not eliminated completely," said GM spokeswoman Nancy Sarpolis.
Ford Motor Co. also has a small co-op program with Kettering, as do a number of automotive suppliers.
Chrysler puts prospective co-op candidates through an intense interview process. All students must have a high school grade-point average above 3.0, and the company is particularly interested in students who have already demonstrated a passion for automobiles or manufacturing through membership in clubs like FIRST Robotics.
The first eight students in Chrysler's program have already been selected. They started at the company a month ago.
"It's a really good experience," said Aubree Fair, an incoming freshman from Marysville, who added that her work at Chrysler already has made her feel like she made the right choice. She is working in supplier quality.
Jacob Caporuscio of Richmond is also enjoying his new job.
"I'm actually engineering things," he said, "not just getting coffee."
From The Detroit News: Autos Insider | Chrysler revives Kettering co-op for engineering | The Detroit News
