After receiving a $349,000 Career Ready Internship Grant, Carthage College is working to recruit at least 80 businesses and nonprofits that will host internships for its students.
The grant, awarded by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, will fund close to 200 paid internships for Carthage College students over the next three academic years.
Students with demonstrated financial need will earn $12 per hour during their internship experience.
The Kenosha school’s administrators plan to activate the first set of internships in February, after securing employers and students and finalizing program details.
They are recruiting employers across southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois.
Paid internships benefit all parties involved, according to Richard George, Great Lakes president and chief executive officer.
“Paid internships benefit students, colleges and employers,” George said in a statement. “Students gain meaningful workplace skills and are more likely to earn degrees and use their internship experiences to help secure good jobs upon graduation.”
The $349,000 grant is the third Career Ready grant Carthage has garnered. Previous grant funding has supported 128 paid internships since 2013. The latest grant requires Carthage College pour $12,000 into its internship program during the second year of grant funding and $30,000 during the third year, according to Carolynn Friesch, director of employer relations at Carthage College.
After the three-year window of grant funding, the school will be responsible for taking over funding of the internship program, Friesch said.
