Milwaukee-based Skills Pipeline and affiliated organization Startup Milwaukee are launching a new technology internship program to fill 45 roles at nine local firms.
The summer internships will be in software engineering/development; data science/analytics; sales and account management; digital design; marketing; customer service; and finance/operations.
Participating companies are Access HealthNet, Accelity Marketing, Aurora Health Care, Bright Cellars, Crescendo Collective, Hoffman York, Penrod, Rent College Pads and Scanalytics.
Skills Pipeline is a technology talent recruitment firm. Matt Cordio, founder and president of Skills Pipeline, said while tech firms consistently offer internships, there was a need for a program to connect the companies to the students.
“We saw the demand coming to our website, just by the waiting list that grew out of us putting a form out there,” Cordio said. “A lot of these companies, whether they’re a small startup or one of these mid-size tech companies like Crescendo or Hoffman York, they don’t necessarily have the recruiting teams that large organizations do.”
Startup Milwaukee received about 40 inquiries from students nationwide seeking Milwaukee tech internships through its site, which led to the creation of the matching program.
“We feel like we can also add value because in addition to the internship experience they’ll get at a company that hires them, the goal is to expose the students to the entire hiring network of these tech companies and startups, as well as to network them with each other,” Cordio said.
The summer program, which is free to students, will offer networking events, skill-building workshops and connections with tech companies hiring interns. Companies will be asked to sponsor some of the programming.
Skills Pipeline and Startup Milwaukee aim to attract and retain tech talent in southeastern Wisconsin, Cordio said.
“Our goal is to grow the number of companies and internship opportunities and really grow the program because the more young people we can get in tech jobs in the tech sector here in Milwaukee, the better,” he said.
College students can apply for the internships on Startup Milwaukee’s site.
