GE Careers Blog.

General Electric predicts this will be the decade of the “Industrial Internet,” a time when staggering numbers of machines ranging from gas turbines, medical image makers, oil rigs and aircraft engines post status updates to the web like people do on social networks.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt had praise for the company’s Capital Region operations and the role union leadership played in helping them thrive. During an interview with the Times Union, he said the Schenectady operations are on an “upswing” and that the corporate laboratories in Niskayuna were at “a high point.”

“We believe that in any country the way to increase capacity and jobs is through education,” said General Electric Vice Chairman John G. Rice. “The development and creation of a skilled and trained work force — whether that is somebody who operates a machine tool on a factory floor or somebody who is an entry-level engineer or someone who is the manager of the engineering department – is very important and crucial. We have to think about it from all angles…Companies like ours can help because we can create internships for students. Some of these can be in the Kingdom working in our facilities. Some of them can be in other countries…We think that somewhere during this development process more young Saudis are going to come out and be better equipped to fill the jobs that we have.”

Many corporations and businesses showed engineering students job and internship opportunities at an Engineering Career Fair. The event was held on the second level of the K-State Student Union from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In his opening remarks GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt addressed over two hundred business and political leaders, journalists and other visitors, and focused on ideas that help American businesses boost their competitive edge. Immelt hit a confident note. “As a 30-year GE executive, I can tell you I’ve probably more confidence today than any other time I can remember in the ability of factories and businesses in this country to be competitive,” he said. “Companies are competitive, they want to win.”