Freeport Skilled Trades Interns Build a Better Future for Themselves and the Company

August 13, 2025 - Charlie Garcia was ready for a career change but knew the challenges would be daunting. Already in his mid-30s with a wife and two young children, Garcia worked as a mechanic in the construction industry but wanted a job that would bring more long-term stability.

Garcia was able to make the switch thanks to Guarantee Your Future with Freeport, an educational scholarship and job placement program in partnership with Education Forward Arizona targeting students looking to build careers as skilled tradespeople like welders, electricians and mechanics. He also is one of 33 skilled trades interns working at company job sites in North America this summer. The interns are getting hands-on training and mentorship from professionals as they work to achieve either an associate’s degree or trade certification.

High-demand trades

Freeport places a high priority on attracting people in skilled trades, including electricians, instrumentation specialists, welders, process automation technicians, diesel mechanics and heavy equipment mechanics, said Betsy Johnson, Manager-Talent Acquisition. These professionals are in high demand. The scholarships and internship programs help Freeport attract, train and eventually hire skilled workers for those positions while allowing the students to gain real-world experience.

“This blended approach reflects Freeport’s commitment to developing a strong pipeline of skilled trades professionals by investing in both scholarship-supported students and emerging talent identified through community engagement,” Johnson said. “The program offers hands-on experience and mentorship, preparing interns for future careers in the trades while strengthening the company’s workforce.”

All the interns are paid. Six of them, including Garcia, also receive financial assistance through the Guarantee Your Future with Freeport scholarship program, which pays for tuition, books and other expenses.

Garcia is completing his internship at the company’s Bagdad, Arizona, site and is on track to graduate in December with an associate degree in Automated Industrial Technology.

“It was huge,” Garcia said of the benefits of the scholarship from Freeport. “A career change at this point in time would be like jumping out of an airplane, and the Guarantee Your Future with Freeport program has been my parachute. It really takes the financial stress out of it.”

Coordinated effort

While Freeport has long offered internships for students pursuing four-year degrees in a variety of high-demand fields, this is the first year the company has launched a coordinated internship program for skilled trades students. Although individual sites maintained their own outreach programs to attract students studying in the skilled trades, there was no coordinated companywide effort until last year, when the Guarantee Your Future with Freeport program was launched.

The program was designed to attract a broader pool of potential future employees, including from the most populated metropolitan areas, by offering a way to upskill, reskill or overcome barriers to accessing higher education. It also provides recipients a unique opportunity for a productive career path they might not have otherwise considered.

Garcia was in the first cohort of a dozen scholarship recipients, who started receiving the benefits last fall. All scholarship recipients are students at Arizona community colleges who are either pursuing an associate degree or two-year trade certification. Six currently are completing their summer internships alongside the other skilled trade interns.

The other 27 interns, while not receiving scholarships, are gaining valuable paid experience and mentorship from Freeport professionals. These internships typically last eight to 12 weeks.

Both the scholarships and summer internships are open to anyone seeking a two-year degree or certification in specified fields.

Education Forward Arizona, Freeport’s nonprofit partner, assists with applicant recruitment, screening, placement and mentoring in the Guarantee Your Future with Freeport scholarship program.

Guarantee Your Future scholarships have been offered to 20 students for the upcoming school year in addition to the six who already are in the program, said Tammy Paz-Combs, Manager, Social Investment. Requests for a total of more than 80 interns already have been made by company sites in North America.

Photos (top to bottom): Charlie Garcia is an intern at Bagdad studying Automated Industrial Technology with the assistance of the company’s Guarantee Your Future with Freeport scholarship program; Charlie Garcia (center) and fellow intern Kevin Carrion (right) learn how automated systems are used in mining from Travis Jones, Mill Operator II.