By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Today the West Michigan Strategic Alliance (WMSA) and the Detroit Regional Chamber
launched an initiative to create 25,000 new internships statewide by
2013, including 3,000 new internships in West Michigan by 2012. The
initiative, Intern In Michigan, is the largest intern initiative in the state.
The goals are to provide an online hub
to connect students looking for internships with employers who have
internship programs and vice versa, to help employers establish
internship programs, and to retain young talent in Michigan through
internships that develop into permanent jobs.
"There's a quote from the National Association of Colleges and Employment
that says that in 2008 50.5 percent of interns converted to full time
employment with the company they interned with," says Cindy Brown, WMSA
internship initiative project manager.
"Retaining college
grads is a lot easier than attracting them from somewhere else and it's
a way for employers to evaluate a prospective employee at their
organization. They can then fill positions with interns that they're
interested in."
In addition, WMSA provides support for employers and students. In February, WMSA launched its Employer's Internship Toolkit to help employers develop internship programs or enhance programs already in place.
Brown
says she will personally help any employer or student who needs it, as
will the initiative's regional advisory committee – made up of
colleges, universities and employers who have internship programs.
"The more we can sit down with an
employer and work with them, the more they'll understand how an intern
can assist their businesses and the better program will be," Brown
notes. "As for students who land internships, they learn on-the-job
business etiquette and the culture of an organization. They also get to
see how a corporation works and can build a résumé while gaining
tangible work experience."
Source: Cindy Brown, West Michigan Strategic Alliance; Tim Penning, Penning Ink
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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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