TU20 Shared Intern Program – Planning Meeting

by | Apr 9, 2017

Join members of the TU20 team for a lively discussion and active planning session focused on:

Creating and implementing a Shared Intern program that will employ 10 students full-time in July and August 2015

BACKGROUND: THINKING DIFFERENTLY

Inspiration: Chris Herbert and Mark Arteaga’s internship / mentorship stories, shared during the March 2015 TU20 meeting, illustrated that small and micro businesses are interested in and can benefit from involvement in internship programs.

 What we know …

  1. Small business is the growth engine of the economy (Canada’s Economic Action Plan )
  2. There are over 600,000 small businesses across Canada with fewer than 5 employees (Stats Can 2013); some 4,000 – 5,000 of those businesses are in Halton (from 2007); many are involved in ICT.
  3. Small businesses with of fewer than 5 employees may find it difficult to fund a full length summer internship, but they would benefit from an influx of skills and ideas in:
    • Programming / development
    • Project management, research
    • Product development, entrepreneurship
    • Design
    • Marketing
    • Sales, business development
    • Customer service, support
    • Business management

 So, how do we get more small businesses involved?

  • What would an internship program for small / micro businesses look like?
  • Where would the jobs come from?
  • Where would the students come from?

 Do we start with a defined goal?

  • Employ 10 students for 8 weeks from July to August 2015

HOW WOULD WE PROCEED?

Create a ‘Shared Intern’ program that would:

  • Employ 10 students (in a variety of focus areas) full time for 8 weeks (Jul, Aug)
  • Engage each student in 4 x two week projects, each with a different employer, but in their focus area (eg. programming, project management, business development, marketing, design, customer service)
  • Ensure that each ‘project’ delivers an opportunity for the student to add value, engage in real work and satisfy a real employer need
  • Allow small / micro business owners to engage in an internship without
    • a huge time commitment (only 2 weeks) or
    • a significant financial burden (outlay of approx. $1,100 = 80 hrs of project work time @ minimum wage + a small SH fee)
  • Provide a small amount of funding for SH (10% of the $1,100)

What mix of skills would make up the group of 10 ‘shared interns’?

  • 3 x programming, development, project management interns
  • 3 x business development, product development, entrepreneurship interns
  • 2 x design, marketing, product development interns
  • 2 x business management, customer service, support interns

Would a group like this also benefit from meeting 2 or 3 times over the summer to network and share their experiences with each other?

What are YOUR thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Employers

Are there 40 small / micro sized ICT companies in Halton that would each benefit from offering a 2 week internship project between July 1 and August 31, 2015?

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