Governor Kim Reynolds announced awards totaling $321,080 to help jumpstart six projects that are projected to provide 115 valuable summer internships to youth across Iowa. For the past several years, Future Ready Iowa’s Summer Youth Internship Program grants have been awarded to help youth gain access to meaningful work experience while exploring and preparing for high-demand careers.
The six grants will go to programs in Des Moines, Carroll, Indianola, Ankeny, Marshalltown, and Mount Ayr. Funding can be used for participant wages, training resources, supplies, materials, or administrative and program costs as part of creating new career opportunities for Iowa’s youth to experience work.
Grants were open to nonprofits, educational institutions, employers, and community organizations, with priority given to programs that will provide internships to youth that are at risk of not graduating, from low-income households, or who face barriers to upward mobility in the labor market (such as being from communities underrepresented in the labor market).
“I’m proud that, with a steady stream of summer internship grants, Iowa has continued to support the employers who empower Iowa’s youth,” Gov. Reynolds said. “Work-based learning is vital both for Iowa’s youth and for its businesses. Summer internships give youth the chance to experience what a job is like, and it gives employers an essential opportunity to build connections with the people they may want to employ full-time one day.”
“One key way to maintain Iowa’s workforce is to make certain the next generation of workers have a good reason to stay in our state with promising future careers,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “Summer internships help youth explore potential careers and experience what work is like. The more they can see what’s out there, the more likely they are to realize all the career possibilities that can become a reality in Iowa.”
For a detailed summary of the program awards, visit this link.
