Foxconn Technology Group is launching an “earn and learn” program aimed at recruiting technical college and university students in the state to the company’s Wisconsin operations.
Under the Foxconn Earn and Learn Program, students will be hired as full-time Foxconn employees with health benefits. The program will also offer students time off with pay to learn and earn credits on their campus.
“Not only will our FELP trainees earn credits at their respective colleges and universities, the skills and knowledge acquired from this pioneering program on campus, as well as the experience they gain while working at Foxconn, will set them apart as they embark upon a career at Foxconn,” said Alan Yeung, director of U.S. strategic initiatives for Foxconn.
The company said it is launching the program with Gateway and Chippewa Valley technical colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside to start.
“This Foxconn Earn and Learn Program has the potential to broaden the talent pool throughout Wisconsin,” Deborah Ford, chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, said in a Foxconn press release. “It’s a valuable opportunity to learn in and out of the classroom, observe and immerse in a company culture, and receive financial support to achieve the goal of a university degree.”
It is not immediately clear if students hired in the program would count towards the hiring requirements in Foxconn’s incentive contract with the state.
Foxconn needs to create at least 520 jobs in the state at the end of the year to be eligible for any tax credits. The contract defines jobs as those filled by full-time paid at least $30,000 annually plus benefits. Employees do not have to work on the company’s Mount Pleasant campus but their work does need to benefit Foxconn’s operations there.
