Press Release Archive

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Governor Culver Announces New Internship Opportunities For Iowa Graduates

(Des Moines, IA) – The Iowa Student Internship Program administered by the Iowa Department of Economic Development is currently accepting company internship applications for fiscal year 2009.  During fiscal year 2008, the program awarded 74 companies grants for a total of 150 summer interns.

"With Iowa facing a workforce shortage in the coming years, it’s critical to link young Iowans to the unlimited career opportunities available in the state," said Governor Culver. "Not only does this program keep our kids close to home, it offers small and medium-sized companies a rare opportunity to hire additional staff at an affordable rate and offer new and exciting work experiences at the same time."

According to current state projections, Iowa faces a “jobs surplus” of more than 150,000 highly-skilled positions within the next five years.  Studies have shown internship programs can help retain Iowa students in the state by creating a pathway from college to work.

The program is available to Iowa based companies that meet all three of the following criteria.  Companies must:

  • Have fewer than 500 employees, with a significant portion employed within the state of Iowa engaged in one of the targeted industries of biosciences, advanced manufacturing or information technology.
  • Offer internships to students of Iowa community colleges, private colleges, or regent institutions within two years of graduation.
  • Create a substantive working experience for their intern in one or more of the following areas: research and development; engineering; process management and production; product experimentation and analysis; product development; market research; business planning and administration.

Awards are available up to $3,100 for any single internship. A company can apply for a maximum of three internships or a maximum $9,300 award per company. Students hired as interns will be paid at least twice the minimum wage. 

Semester internships last a minimum of 14 weeks (averaging no less than 10 hours per week).  Internship opportunities can be found on http://www.SmartCareerMove.com.

For more information about the program, visit http://www.iowalifechanging.com/business/innov&comm.html