Sean Bottorff
Writer
Nearly 90 representatives from 28 major companies were on the campus this week for the 12th annual Industrial Distribution Career Event. Among those representatives were company CEO’s, presidents and vice presidents looking for interns and employees from among the UNK industrial distribution majors.
Scott Jochum, UNK director of Student and Industry Relations, said, “This (the career event) is a service we provide to our students, and because of this annual event, nearly all of our graduates have job offers even before they begin their senior year.”
Companies come to the event on an invitation basis. This year, the event drew company representatives from 18 states including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi,Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas,Virginia, Washington,Wisconsin and Wyoming.
“This is a great event for our students, because it is an invitation-only event,” Jochum said. “This allows the Industrial Distribution program to determine what companies will be interviewing our students.” The UNK Industrial Distribution Program, which ranks second in the nation only to Texas A&M, was established in 1989. There were only five students among the first group of graduates from the program in 1991. For the past five years, the program has averaged more than 50 graduates per year with a 99% placement rate. Currently, the program has 179 students who are studying to be either manufacturer’s sales representatives or industrial sales representatives.
Dr. Donald Envick, coordinator of Industrial Distribution, said,“Many students at UNK already have jobs from top companies when they graduate. Top jobs from the manufacturer’s side include Crescent Electric Supply Company or WinWholesale, with a starting salary of around $50,000 per year.
Students have also been offered jobs as Industrial Sales Representatives from top industries such as Molex, with a starting salary in the range of $45,000 – $50,000.” During the three-day career event, students and company representatives met in both business and casual environments.
The second day began with a new program designed to help students and companies understand what the expectations are from each other. After the program, there was a career fair and companies conducted interviews. The day concluded at the Big Apple Fun Center. The final day was solely for companies to interview potential students as employees or interns.
Dr. Envick said,“UNK’s Industrial Distribution program is one of only 12 schools that offer an Industrial Distribution Program where sales is the focus. It is also one of only 24 schools in the nation that offers the Industrial Distribution program as a major.”
