Pros
The Emerging Leaders Development Program has been great with connecting young individuals fresh out of college to several business segments within ITW (TM&E, Welding, FEG, etc.). In my personal experience with the TM&E segment, I was given a wide variety of projects across several departments, lead a cross functional user team, and was given the opportunity to execute large scale projects that made a great savings impact for the company. The ELDP has also organized a great annual cohort meeting every year to group three different years of ELDP cohorts to network and meet prestigious individuals within the company. I was able to shake hands with the EVP and CEO of the company, and talk to them about my professional development and the company's development.
Cons
The ELDP is still fairly young and needs to be much more organized. I am about to end my first rotation, and I have yet to hear about my second rotation. The first cohort that recently graduated was left scouring for their permanent position and was never really guaranteed a position after investing three years into this program. Also, in comparison to other rotational programs, there are no periodic conference meetings, retreats, leadership building meetings, etc. There is only the annual cohort meeting. To fully invest in the ELDP's professional and personal developments, i think it is key to have these kind of meetings.
