Internship Programs
State Internship Programs or Resources Affiliated with State Chambers of Commerce
Arkansas
There is no statewide apprenticeship program, but the Arkansas Department of Career Education runs an apprenticeship office which connects students to apprenticeship opportunities and provides companies with the resources to set up registered apprenticeship programs. Employers hiring a youth apprentice can receive a credit of $2,000 or 10 percent of the wages earned by the youth, whichever is less, against the tax imposed by the Arkansas Income Tax Act.
Florida
Florida Chamber Foundation and Able Trust
The Florida Chamber Foundation has partnered with the Able Trust to match businesses with qualified individuals with disabilities to be placed in internships. The Chamber has also publicized Able Trust’s guide to hiring people with disabilities into intern positions to encourage employment in that community.
Indiana
Indiana INTERNnet
An internship-matching program started by the Indiana Chamber in 2001, after a series of Chamber-led studies on the state’s brain drain problem. Originally the program was conducted as a partnership with the University of Indiana, but was granted tax exempt status and moved to the Indiana Chamber in 2004. INTERNnet provides a database where employers can post internship opportunities, educators can connect their students to programs, and students can browse through internship openings. The program is currently made up of 11,500 students and 7,900 employers.
Maryland
Maryland Internship Toolkit
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce has a members-only toolkit for establishing an effective internship program on its website.
Minnesota
Minnesota Workforce Programs
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce hosts a database of contact information for local chambers of commerce and their workforce programs, including internships and career fairs.
Missouri
Missouri Intern Connect
Missouri Intern Connect is a program established by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2018 to connect students to internships in the state. The program is part of the Chamber’s Missouri 2030 strategic initiative, part of which is aimed at reversing brain drain from Missouri.
Montana
Montana Registered Apprenticeship Program
Montana’s Registered Apprenticeship Program is run through the Department of Labor and Industry. The state chamber has highlighted the program but is not otherwise involved. Employers using the program are eligible for a $750 tax credit for each worker.
New Jersey
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation runs the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program, the country’s largest dropout prevention program for high school and undergraduate students. Businesses play a role in the initiative by offering job shadowing or internships to high school students.
Oregon
Oregon’s Young Entrepreneurs Business Week is a program sponsored by the Oregon Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations. The program accepts high school students at all grade levels, and offers weeklong tracks in business, marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship at colleges and universities across the state.
South Carolina
Apprenticeship Carolina
Funding for the program comes through the SC Technical College System’s Division of Economic Development. Originated with a 2003 report on U.S. states’ and various countries’ apprenticeship practices conducted by the SC Chamber of Commerce. The program launched in 2007, and works with employers throughout the state to provide the resources needed to create registered apprenticeship programs. Currently, the program has 1,013 companies with registered programs, and 31,882 total apprentices.
South Dakota
South Dakota Youth Business Adventure is a weeklong summer program for high school upperclassmen aimed at introducing the state’s young people to business opportunities and education. The program has been held annually since 1980 and is sponsored by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce.
Virginia
Virginia Registered Apprenticeship Program
The Virginia Registered Apprenticeship Program has been run through the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry since 1938. Virginia employers can become sponsors of the apprenticeship program and provide on the job training to apprentices who can earn state certification after completing the program. The program currently has approximately 2,000 employer sponsors. Virginia Youth Registered Apprenticeship extends the program to high schoolers, who can work part-time with participating businesses while in high school. Employers sponsoring the program can claim a tax credit for providing training to apprentices. The Virginia Chamber highlighted the need for apprenticeship opportunities in Blueprint Virginia 2025, an economic action plan created by the state chamber.
Vermont
The Vermont Futures Project, an initiative run by the State Chamber foundation, is planning to undertake a two-part initiative to improve internships in the state. The program’s first step will be to conduct research on internship-to-job conversion in the state, and the second step involves publishing and distributing an internship best practices toolkit to educate employers. (Not much information is available, program is clearly in early stages of development or has not started at all.)
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