BasX, Redmond’s second largest employer, is expanding internship opportunities for high school and college students so its workforce can keep pace with the fast-growing company.

On June 22, 14 educators from Deschutes and Jefferson counties participated in an educator externship tour organized by the Central Oregon STEM Hub. The participants included teachers and counselors from middle and high schools, as well as Central Oregon Community College. Central Oregon STEM Hub also includes Crook and Lake counties.

“We’ve been conducting what we call educator externships for a number of years,” said Central Oregon STEM Hub coordinator Tracy Wilson-Scott. “It’s an opportunity for our educators to forge relationships and collaborations with industry partners, and really think about that bridge between industry and education, as well as an opportunity to understand the pathways and pipelines for our students as they’re entering the workforce.”

Acquired by AAON in 2021, BasX has both internship and externship opportunities with a variety of positions that require varying levels of expertise. Open positions include entry-level payroll and human resource jobs to professional engineering positions, but also interns as young as 16 just starting their working careers.

Currently more than 500 people are employed by BasX in Redmond. The company is also expanding, with a new 30,000-square-foot welding facility currently under construction. The company anticipates hiring at least people 35 just to fill welding jobs once the new facility is operational.

The tour on Thursday started with a video and presentation that highlighted the history, values and educational opportunities at BasX. Educators then split into groups to tour the plant and ask questions about the different jobs they saw around them.

“I think it’s important for teachers to go out in the community and see what businesses need for the workforce,” said Jefferson Middle School science teacher Dan Bezdek. “We spend a lot of time with kids and mentor kids and try to guide kids to become citizens of the future and for us to really have our finger on the pulse of what an industry needs and then to communicate that to the kids as they develop in school.”

Glory Cing, corporate citizenship coordinator at BasX, first started off as a human resources intern at AAON in Oklahoma before working her way into administrative positions. She emphasized the numerous opportunities for students to get involved at the company on the ground floor, then let their passions guide them.

“When I first entered into the HR department I didn’t even know what HR stood for,” Cing said. “This is creating opportunity for our future generation. This is creating a career path for them.”