More than 60 businesses, organizations and nonprofit groups have committed to hiring Hamilton County high school students for paid internships this summer through the Public Education Foundation’s program STEP-UP Chattanooga.
But Jeff Rector, PEF’s business partnerships manager, said the foundation is still looking for about 20 more businesses who can hire interns beginning in June. STEP-UP places low-income students in internships at local businesses and organizations and provides work-readiness training for students throughout the spring before their summer internships.
The obligation that comes with hiring an intern includes 20 to 30 hours of work a week for six weeks over the summer. Rector said they have over 200 students signed up for the program, but the goal is to get at least 150 interns placed in the program’s third year.
“We don’t promise jobs, but all of (the students) will get an interview,” he said.
STEP-UP Chattanooga is in its third year and is based on a similar program in Minneapolis that has served 20,000 students since its launch in 2003. Usually businesses hire just one or two interns for the summer, but Rector said some of the bigger employers in town, like Electric Power Board, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Unum and all the hospitals each hire anywhere from five to 10 students.