Insight and the NEW Manufacturing Alliance kicked off Manufacturing Month Oct. 1 with a live recording of the New Manufacturing Insights podcast focused on the Robinson Inc. Training Academy.
Around 40 people attended the podcast event hosted by 2025 Manufacturer of the Year Robinson Inc. at their De Pere headquarters. Jeff Engelbrecht, training and development manager and Ryan Gibbons, training and development specialist, shared how the Robinson Training Academy has transformed onboarding, talent recruitment, retention and upskilling for the company since it was instituted in May of 2025.
More than 350 people have gone through the Academy and its impact has reached well beyond the onboarding process it was initially designed to improve.
“In the case of some people, it’s probably kept them here to fulfill career aspirations as well,” Engelbrecht says, explaining that it has allowed people to upskill and find new niches for their interests and talents inside Robinson.
It helps both Robison newcomers and existing staff to get a fuller picture of how the employee-owned business operates.
Engelbrecht says Robinson is committed to the Academy and that it will continue to grow with the company already carving out space in a facility it opened in Iowa to extend the Academy there.
Hear the entire podcast, sponsored by Stoke RGA, here or wherever you get your podcasts.
NEW Manufacturing Insights is a joint project of Insight and NEWMA, produced by Woodward Community Media and distributed by Spreaker. New episodes are released every Thursday.
Register to attend Manufacturing First at manufacturingfirst.com.
