More than 360 companies are looking to fill hiring needs, helping students reach career goals
By Abbey Goers, UW Stout
About 2,000 students at University of Wisconsin-Stout will connect with recruiters from more than 360 companies from across the United States during the four-day Career Conference Week.
Leading employers in engineering, packaging, plastics, design, hospitality and more will be on campus from Monday, Sept. 23, to Thursday, Sept. 26, for five industry-focused fairs hosted by Career Services, at the Memorial Student Center.
Menards, one of the attending companies, offers internships in all areas of its operations, including in-store, distribution, manufacturing and corporate, information technology infrastructure and programming, marketing, graphic design, media production, accounting, business, supply chain management, engineering and human resources.
“We’re always looking for hardworking and dedicated people to join the Menards team and many of our talented and reliable team members and managers are Stout alumni. The conversations we have with Stout students at career fairs always leave quite an impression. We know that at the end of the day, we’ll have talked to some of our future interns,” Chance Morse, Menards General Office operations manager.
As one of the largest career conferences in the Midwest, with more than 2,500 employers attending the past 10 semiannual events, it contributes to the success of recent graduates, who have a 99% employment rate within six months of graduation or are pursuing a graduate degree.
Not only do employers connect with students graduating into the workforce, they connect with juniors and seniors looking for paid internships and other opportunities to enhance their applied learning. The Cooperative Education and Internship Program helps to coordinate students’ required experiential learning components and builds partnerships between employers, students, and university faculty and staff.
“The fall event is the premier recruitment event to support our hiring and our co-op and intern program for next year,” said Career Services Director Bryan Barts. “There is continued strong recruiting for fields related to energy, infrastructure and engineering, as well as consumer products, packaging and manufacturing.”
Fortune 500 companies attending include Boston Scientific, ConAgra, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Hilton, Hormel, IBM, Kimberly Clark, Kraft Heinz, Land O’Lakes, Marriott, Northwestern Mutual, Parker Hannifin, Polaris, Rockwell Automation, Sherwin-Williams, Sonoco and Xcel Energy.
Companies with Wisconsin facilities representing the different industries include EVCO Plastics, Great Northern Corp, Green Bay Packaging, Harley-Davidson, Heartland Business Systems, Kohler, Landmark Resort, Market & Johnson, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Menards, Milwaukee Tool, Phillips-Medisize, Prent Corporation, Sand Valley, Skyward, Waupaca Foundry and Wilderness Resort.
Phillips-Medisize, in west-central Wisconsin, also has locations in California, Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts and Arkansas.
“We choose to attend the conference for the top-notch organization of the event. It is easy to find candidates because nearly all in attendance are in majors related to our industry,” said Jen Parker, early careers manager with Phillips-Medisize. “Stout students are well prepared for this event and have done their research on the organizations they are most interested in being employed at. We are looking for interns to fill a multitude of roles in engineering, finance, communications, human resources and more. We are looking for students ready to learn and contribute. Our company employs many Stout alumni, ranging from entry-level to top leadership in our organization.”
Several companies will be joining the conference for the first time, including Wells Blue Bunny, ADDMAN Engineering, AMS Industries, ARCO, Center for Urban Teaching, Buesser Concrete, JT Engineering, North Pine Aggregate, Printron Engravers, Rheem Manufacturing, Gant Aspen, Tjader and Highstrom, United Packaging and U.S. Vets.
Many companies attend multiple days of the conference to recruit students from across the career clusters, and students are encouraged to attend any and all days.
The week’s events are:
Monday: Computing, Data, Software and Security
Tuesday morning: Packaging, Print and Design
Tuesday afternoon: Science and Engineering
Wednesday: Construction
Thursday: Management, Business, Hospitality and Human Sciences
“The Career Conference provides Heartland Business Systems a great opportunity to connect and engage with students. Not only do UW-Stout’s information technology programs align with our business, but the students are also passionate and dedicated to learning. HBS has hired several IT interns from Stout, with many of them still working with us post-graduation,” said Abby Vandenberg, HBS college recruiter.
Career Conference Week kicks off the fall recruitment season of Career Services’ programs and events for students, including Blue Devil Prep for Success, the MN Government and Nonprofit Career Fair, UMN Built Environment Career Fair, the Wisconsin Biohealth Summit, Internship Draft Day and Graduate Degree Fair.
The CEIP program received the 2024 annual Excellence & Innovation Stewards of Place award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities “for its outstanding results and potential to influence and serve as a model for other institutions.”
“UW-Stout’s commitment to the future career success of our students is easily seen through our core polytechnic tenets, including applied learning, career focus and collaboration with industry,” Barts said.
More than 1,100 students enroll each year in CEIP, completing hands-on co-ops and internships at more than 500 companies in Wisconsin and nationally. More than 27,000 UW-Stout students have benefited from the program since its inception in 1982.
Career Services’ Career Outcomes site provides First Destination and CEIP reports. Student success is the leading goal of UW-Stout’s FOCUS2030 strategic plan.
The Spring 2024 Career Conference will be held Monday, Feb. 24, to Thursday, Feb. 27.
UW-Stout, a member of the Universities of Wisconsin, is Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, with a focus on applied learning, collaboration with business and industry, and career outcomes. Learn more via the FOCUS2030 strategic plan.
