Intern Program Turns Into Jobs for Youths

Posted on: Jul 10th, 2015 | News and Announcements

A luncheon Friday for graduates of the Mobile County Job Internship Program will celebrate the work of 55 youths, all of them getting a good taste of workforce demands, and in some cases, getting the job itself for the rest of the summer. The luncheon will be held at noon at the Arthur R. Outlaw Visitors and Convention Center at 1 S. Water St. Featured speaker Don Keeler, Vice President of Human Resources at Austal USA, will give the perspective of an employer in the program. ?We asked our business leaders to test the mettle of these young people; to give them meaningful work that will challenge them and also add value to the businesses,? said Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. ?This is personal development and workforce development and everyone turns out a winner.? The value-added formula for local businesses brings increasing numbers of them into the program, with about 50 participating this year. Some highlights of their 2015 internship work: ? Streamlining an engineering process to cut costs; ? Working in financial investments; ? Two interns working on engineering projects; ? Working on the nursing floor in administration; ? Creating a database; ? Re-programming a local system. The five-week program, coordinated by Spherion Staffing Services and Workshops Etc.! started in June with one week of intensive job readiness training followed by four weeks of on-the-job performance. Youth participation in the program is competitive, requiring a personal essay, a 2.0 grade average, recommendations, interviews, a background check and drug testing. Youths, ages 17 to 22, come from all corners of the county and a variety of schools ranging from local high schools to Harvard. ?This is one way to get our talented and deserving youths into the workforce when experience is a requirement,? said Mobile County Commission President Connie Hudson. ?At the same time, we hope to develop the workforce to better meet the needs of our local companies.? Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl said the internship program is yet another piece in getting our young people ready to enter the workforce. ?Hopefully these experiences will lead these young people back to Mobile when they are making their career choices,? he said. The program is headed by the Mobile County Commission in a partnership with Mobile Works, PNC Bank and the University of South Alabama.