Iowa Governor Culver Announces 13 New Internship Awards To Link Iowa Students To The Workforce

State Support Aims to Create College Graduate "Brain Gain" in Iowa

March 31, 2008 -- (DES MOINES) – Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver and the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) announce 13 new Student Internship Program Awards for five businesses to link college students from Iowa universities to Iowa firms.

"Maintaining Iowa's skilled and educated workforce is a top priority," said Governor Culver. "These internship awards will link young Iowans to the state's unlimited career opportunities and help Iowa companies to recruit their future workforce."

Since the start of the program, 52 companies have been awarded 106 internship awards. All of the 106 internship opportunities are posted on http://www.SmartCareerMove.com.

Iowa Workforce Development estimates that the state will experience a 150,000 jobs surplus in 2012 as a result of baby boomers retiring from the workforce. Reports compiled by the Generation Iowa Commission and the participants of Governor Culver's Workforce Summit listed state support of internships as a top priority to promote clear career pathways for Iowa college students and maintain Iowa's skilled, educated workforce into the future.

A study released last month by the Generation Iowa Commission showed that Iowa is 6th in the nation, and first in the Midwest, in college student attraction. This means while just over 4,000 Iowa students leave the state for college, more than 12,200 out-of-state high school students come to Iowa for college – a “brain gain” of 8,200 young people.

"Iowa excels at attracting college students to the state," said IDED Director Mike Tramontina. "Our challenge is to keep that pool of educated students in Iowa after they graduate. The goal of the program is to take full advantage of Iowa’s college student 'brain gain' by transitioning college student interns to full-time employees in the state upon graduation."

According to a 2004 study conducted by the Knowledge Industry Partnership, an out-of-state student who interned in the city where their college was located during their college career was twice as likely to stay than those who did not.

Internship Awards

* Creston - Fansteel Wellman Dynamics - Two Internships (One Recycling Engineer, One Materials Engineer), $6,200
* Des Moines - Source Allies, Inc. - Three Information Technology (IT) Internships, $9,300
* Dubuque - IIW Engineers & Surveyors - Three Internships (Civil Engineer, Civil Engineer Tech and Environmental Engineer), $9,300
* Dyersville - DreamCatcher Production - Three Marketing & Research / Business Administration Internships, $9,300
* Orange City - Civco Medical Solutions - Two Design Engineering Internships, $6,200

Eligibility and Award Information
The deadline for businesses to enroll in the IDED program has been changed to "open." The program is available to Iowa based companies that meet all three of the following criteria:

* 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.
* The intern must be involved in a substantive experience 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.

Summer internships will last a minimum of eight weeks (averaging no less than 30 hours per week). An eligible student must be within two years of graduation and enrolled at one of Iowa’s community colleges, private colleges or regent institutions. Eligible companies can apply for support for up to three internships. Program funds are available for summer 2008 internships.

A business must provide matching funds of at least one dollar of non-state monies for every one dollar received from the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED). The maximum award shall not exceed $3,100 for any single internship or $9,300 for any single business.

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

Source: Iowa Governor

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