North American Bancard uses interns to fill future jobs

North American Bancard isn't looking to only hire members of Metro Detroit's existing work force, it wants to create its own, too.

The Troy-based firm is turning its internship program into a talent pool from which it is beginning to draw heavily. The company is looking to fill out a dozen internships this year, including a couple for web development and nearly half a dozen for php application development. More information on those internships here.

"We've had really good success with our interns," says Deb Fonseca, corporate recruiter for North American Bancard. "We either hire them or extend the internship for another 12 weeks."

The electronic payment company currently employs 325 people in Troy. It expects to hire 60 more this year as part of a plan to create 1,500 new jobs over the next decade. A sizeable portion of those new hires will come from the firm's internship program, which is expected to expand rapidly over the next few years.

"We're growing incredibly fast," Fonseca says. "This is a great environment for interns."

North American Bancard, founded in 1992, creates the hardware and software shoppers use to swipe debit and credit cards. The Michigan Economic Development Corp recently gave the company a $21.5 million tax credit over 12 years so it would focus its expansion efforts in Metro Detroit.

Source: Deb Fonseca, corporate recruiter for North American Bancard
Writer: Jon Zemke