UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. As part of our mission to advance the upskilling movement, we are pleased to share the following news featuring one of our partners.
Internships are key to a stronger resume, but not all internships are paid, and students with financial need often can’t afford the opportunity cost. To help internships become more equitable, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation has expanded its Career Ready Internship Grant into a three-year program. A record $12 million has been awarded to 33 colleges and universities in Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin to create paid internships that will help juniors and seniors who are struggling to make ends meet. Grant recipients have already begun collaborating with businesses and nonprofits to develop new paid internships, and are planning to make them sustainable beyond 2018, when the Great Lakes grant period ends.
The Career Ready Internship program began as a $2.5 million pilot at 19 Wisconsin colleges during 2013-2014, and led to $5.2 million in grants for 40 colleges across four states in 2014-2015. Thousands of students have now participated in newly created paid internships in their fields of study, and 98 percent of these students either graduated or continued in their academic programs the following semester. Great Lakes believes partnerships between colleges and employers will strengthen as the shared benefit becomes a shared commitment to cover an increasing percentage of funding for internships by the end of the grant period. Click here to learn more.
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