Internships and More Internships

One of the Advance Northeast Ohio initiatives (the University Study Commission) recommended last year that the region double the number of internships available in the region over the next three years.

Gov. Strickland and state legislators listened and agreed to help make it easier to reach that goal by earmarking $250 million of an economic stimulus package to expand internship and co-op programs for college students.

House Speaker Jon Husted said: "We know that if people start working in Ohio when they are in college that the likelihood that they will stay is greater."

Chancellor Eric Fingerhut said state universities would compete for the $50 million a year that will be made available to new or expanded internship programs.

If you are looking for an internship opportunity or if your an employer looking to expand your internship program visit ClevelandIntern.net.

And don't forget that AdvanceNortheastOhio.org reader Kristen Maag has made a generous internship offer available here.

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Comments

# Submitted by krystylpatterson on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 10:04.

As a college student, and soon to be graduate, I am well aware of the internship process. However, I am also aware of the countless students who do not find internship opportunity in this region. I am in a lecture hall with 12 other people, and four students are leaving this summer for other states for internships, that possibly turn into employment. These are also, in my opinion, the brightest students in the class.

I asked them the reasons they were leaving Ohio. All said they never wanted to leave, but they were not getting the internship opportunities here that they received elsewhere. This is a big problem. These students, who have dedicated their time and intelligence to this area for so long, are leaving right when it is so valuable, right after graduation. And they are becoming an asset to another region. They aren't leaving because of the weather, their children or their significant other; they are leaving because they don't see a future in this region. That has to change.

Students need more internship opportunities in this region. Students who are discouraged by the process, and see a glimmer of hope across state lines, are quick to pack their bags. Businesses need to give these students the chance to prove themselves, and get experience so they can add value to this area, and get the training they need to expand and attract other valuable people.

As I have started the interviewing process, I have run into similar obstacles. However, I believe that maybe if I stay, and so do the other people who walk across stage with me, we can change the region.