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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Jacobs Engineering was selected as a 2024 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of diverse talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Jacobs' eight Employee Resource Groups play a critical role in representation and relationship building on all campuses, but especially at the five HBCUs and six HSIs where the team has built relationships. To increase the reach outside of targeted schools, Jacobs increased team presence at regional and national events for SHPE, SWE, and NSBE. Over 85 Jacobs representatives attended national conventions, giving them the ability to nearly 2,000 students, conduct interviews during the events, and make over 100 job offers to student attendees. Engagement and belonging are proven to be key in retaining diverse talent and Jacobs' Together Beyond culture provides a place where all employees can connect and feel they belong.
Impactful Internship Program
Jacobs interns work alongside and are mentored by world-class professionals helping solve real-life challenges. Interns are introduced to global leaders, projects, and organizations to amplify their experience. The Jacobs internship program includes lunch and learns, webcasts, localized networking, e-learning, site visits, and social events. Interns are supported by peer mentors, Intern Champions, and the Global Future Talent Team to ensure they feel engaged throughout their time with Jacobs. Jacobs believes interns are the future of the company. To demonstrate that they hold a week-long celebration called Intern Week, bringing interns across North America together for unique activities like virtual site visits and desk stretching/yoga. To wrap up their summer internships Jacobs interns present to their teams, colleagues, and top executives across North America. Winners of Regional presentation competitions were flown to Dallas to compete in a National competition, meet our Executive Leadership Team and participate in workshops and networking sessions.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
Jacobs stands out as an industry leader in early career talent for the recruitment, retention, and development of new graduates. The Jacobs Graduate Development Program (GDP) is an investment in the graduates and their careers – and the learnings are transferable across roles, functions, and the diverse market sectors they serve. This GDP exposes new graduates to senior leaders and various business units and functions across the company and focuses on the learning and development of future technical and leadership skills. New graduates at Jacobs are given the opportunity to map out their careers with and network with other graduates and executive leaders both virtually and during in-person conferences/ events. Along with the ERGs mentioned early connections built in the Graduate Development Program and Internship Programs help increase Young Professionals belonging in Jacobs which is a key factor in retention.