A new statewide program helping Virginia employers design and launch high-quality, paid internships has caught on with business advocates on both sides of the Rappahannock River.
InternshipsVA is a multi-year effort focused on developing, attracting, and retaining top talent in Virginia. Eligible employers can apply for grants that provide a 50% reimbursement for undergraduate interns’ wages. The interns must be students enrolled or intending to enroll in a Virginia 2-or-4-year college program. The internships must last for at least eight weeks and 120 hours. Additional resources, including free training, templates, and consultative services, are available for interested employers.
Hannah Overby works for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) and is the Regional Internship Manager for the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck. She helps local businesses with program design and talent recruitment.
Overby said InternshipsVA helps employers develop paid internships that not only build strong local talent pipelines, but also keep Virginia’s talented post-secondary students in the Commonwealth after graduation.
Overby is working closely with Business Services Representative Jacob McCaleb from the Bay Consortium Workforce Development Board (BCWDB) in Warsaw, which serves area employers and jobseekers. Rappahannock Community College (RCC) is another regional partner.
Kimberly Coles, Career Services Coordinator for RCC, is excited to promote InternshipsVA and expand work-based learning opportunities for students across the region. Providing businesses with access to support for internship costs could be a game-changer in creating more opportunities for students, she said. RCC is eager to strengthen partnerships with employers, workforce agencies, and community organizations to help connect students with career experiences.
With the support of InternshipsVA, RCC hopes to increase employer participation and create more opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning through internships and other work-based learning experiences. Students gain valuable real-world skills, career exposure, and professional experience, while employers can help shape and develop the next generation workforce. This is where education meets industry, and everyone benefits, said Coles.
InternshipsVA supports employers of all sizes by helping them design internship programs, recruit students, and access matching grants. At the same time, Virginia’s Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) works with colleges and universities to help students gain the skills to be internship-ready. Together these efforts aim to ensure that every graduate of a Virginia undergraduate program has participated in at least one paid or credit-bearing internship or work-based learning opportunity.
Victor Burrell is treasurer of the Essex County Economic Development Authority (EDA) and serves on the Bay Consortium Board of Directors. The EDA is partnering with the Tappahannock-Essex Chamber of Commerce on several projects, and Burrell is hopeful Chamber members will take advantage of the 50 percent match for intern wages.
Funding is available to both for-profits and non-profits, regardless of industry.
