For those corrugated packaging firms that are not currently an ICPF Corporate Partner, access to ICPF's career portal, resume bank and other resources is now available. ICPF has over 700 students and upcoming graduates in its corrugated packaging network and averages over a 150 current resumes in its resume bank. Over the past seven years, entry level positions and student internships posted by ICPF Corporate Partners on the career portal, or promoted through ICPF's corrugated packaging career network, have attracted an average of five qualified applicants.
ICPF visited with faculty and 92 students where ICPF staff provided information on corrugated packaging & display careers and tutorials on using ICPF resources to apply for student internships and full time positions in corrugated packaging upon graduation.
The International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) seeks to enhance student understanding of the corrugated packaging industry, its products, and career opportunities with the bottom line goal of developing and attracting qualified graduates into corrugated packaging and displays careers. ICPF invites faculty of packaging, business, engineering, graphic design, structural design, industrial engineering, and other related college and university programs to submit proposals.
If you follow packaging industry news, you are well aware of a number of ongoing and new initiatives that the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) conducts throughout the year. These initiatives would not be possible without the contributions and time provided by individual companies. And, there are many ways to get involved and help support ICPF's mission.
As previously reported, an exciting new partnership has been launched with SkillsUSA to test the potential for corrugated packaging plants, working with local SkillsUSA chapters, to prepare area high school students for plant floor operations and maintenance. Over the past year, ICPF has been working in conjunction with FBA and AICC to explore the potential for a SkillsUSA prototype that may possibly be duplicated around the country.
This month, Appalachian State packaging design students will arrive on campus to discover new design software in their university's packaging lab. Over the summer, Arden Software donated 22 seats and faculty training to the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) for use in Appalachian State's packaging design lab in North Carolina. Appalachian State (AppState) is the second of ICPF's 25 university partners receiving both Arden and Artios design software to further enhance their design knowledge through learning the two applications.
Several weeks ago, over 70 students and faculty from Clemson, Michigan State, RIT, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and the University of Wisconsin-Stout participated in the 2017 Student Packaging Jamboree that was hosted by the RIT packaging school in Rochester, New York.
ICPF wishes to thank all the over 100 registrants and sponsors of ICPF's Holiday Weekend in New York (Friday-Sunday, December 8 - 10, 2017). It was another advance "sell out" where executives and their spouses or guests enjoyed holiday shopping, touring, dining, Broadway plays, and New York's holiday season. All while supporting ICPF’s educational mission.
On February 24, the evening before ICPF's 2017 Teleconference, 20 select students from Bowling Green State University, Clemson University, Michigan State University and Virginia Tech joined visiting executives from Green Bay Packaging, KapStone, Pratt Industries, Mid-Atlantic Packaging, Welch Packaging and WestRock for ICPF's student dialogue on corrugated packaging careers.
The grand finale of ICPF's 2017 Teleconference's this past month included ICPF's 2017 Student Design Presentation Competition. Four student teams, two from Millersville University, a team from Cal Poly and a student from Appalachian State, were tasked to show, tell and sell their earlier designs (that won first or second place in a separate 2016 competition conducted by AICC) by explaining the objective, the research conducted, design and other background.
On February 23, ICPF conducted its 2017 Teleconference on The Business of Corrugated Packaging and Displays and the Career Opportunities.