Ohio launches high school tech internship program

On Apr 26, 2021

BELPRE, Ohio. (WTAP) – Ohio has launched a high school internship program aimed at connecting kids to local tech employers.

The internship will connect 100 high school students and recent high school graduates to entry-level-type positions. The internships will focus on software, data, cloud and IT infrastructure, and cybersecurity.

Employers will qualify for some financial reimbursement if they employ interns for a minimum of 150 hours with hourly pay at at least $12. For interns 17 and younger the reimbursement is $1,250 and for interns 18 to 19 years old $1,000.

Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted hopes that the program will prove to local employers that high-schoolers are capable of doing these kinds of jobs so that the program can expand. He’s also hoping employers will start hiring like this on their own, beyond the program.

“The goal here is to keep more of our talent in Ohio and we know if high school students get educated here and we connect them with an employer in the state or or in the region in this case that they’re more likely to stay,” Husted said.

There are 12 pilot sites involved in the program.

The Building Bridges to Careers Southeast Ohio site includes the following school districts: Bridgeport City Schools, Union Local, Barnesville Exempted, Buckeye Local, Belpre City, Marietta City, Frontier Local, Warren Local, Wolf Creek Local, Fort Frye Local, Morgan Local, St. Clairsville-Richland City, Alexander Local, Athens City, Federal-Hocking Local, Meigs Local, Nelsonville-York City, Southern Local – Perry Co., Trimble Local, and Noble Local.

Other pilot sites include schools within…

Auburn Vocational School District
Cincinnati Public Schools
Columbiana County School’s Business Advisory Council
Educational Service Center of Central Ohio
Grant Career Center IT Business & Industry Advisory Council
Greene County Career Center
Lawrence County Business Advisory Council
Miami Valley Career Technology Center
Tolles Career & Technical Center
Vanguard Sentinel Career-Technical Planning District
Washington Local Schools

Businesses interested in hosting an intern should contact their local pilot site. A list of the sites can be found here: //Workforce.Ohio.gov/HSTechInternship