The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has received more than $590,000 to develop and offer paid internship opportunities for students in collaboration with area businesses. The grant comes from the state Department of Workforce Development’s (DWD) Wisconsin Fast Forward Program, which will connect UWM students with meaningful work experience in two areas – green energy, and the social sciences and humanities.
“We are grateful to DWD for this funding,” UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said. “It will enhance the vital role UWM plays in developing the highly skilled workforce that Wisconsin companies need and have come to expect from our graduates. Our emphasis on real-world experience is part of what makes a UWM degree so valuable, and more than 80% of our graduates in the last decade live and work in Wisconsin.”
The UWM funding is part of a $1.1 million grant package DWD awarded to UW System schools. “These grants will help students earn while they learn,” Gov. Tony Evers said when announcing the grants, “ensuring greater access and opportunities for our homegrown talent to start growing their careers right here in Wisconsin.”
More than half of the funding provided to UWM – $382,000 – will go toward experiential learning in Wisconsin’s green energy and clean water industries. Between 40 and 50 student interns will be placed in more than a dozen hosting companies across the state, said Junjie Niu, associate professor of materials science and engineering, who is overseeing this part of the program.
These students are pursuing degrees in engineering, chemistry, physics and business. The first cohort of 20 interns begins in May at A.O. Smith, Arch Solar, Baker Manufacturing, Clarios, Foxconn, GESTRA, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, and Milwaukee Tool, Niu said.
The remainder of the funding – $208,624 – will help develop internships for 20 students in humanities, social sciences and other majors where students often can find only unpaid internships. This funding extends a program that began last year, when DWD provided $500,000 to fund 100 UWM student internship opportunities over a two-year span, said Laurie Marks, executive director of the UWM Center for Student Experience and Talent, who is managing both grants.
“This new funding provides us with more opportunity to get UWM students the on-the-job experience they need to start their careers, and it allows them to begin building a professional network,” Marks said. “Support for these programs also ensures that employers have a diverse and skilled workforce pipeline they can rely on.”
The remainder of those original 100 internships are unfolding this spring, summer and fall in partnership with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. Although all UWM students were eligible to apply, recruitment focused on students from underrepresented backgrounds with an eye toward diversifying the talent pipeline.
Internships will last three, six or nine months, depending on the needs of the employer partner and the students’ academic schedule. As part of the program, interns take a course to learn how to explain their skills to employers. And every intern has both an employer-based mentor and an academic mentor to encourage them and field questions.
Through myriad endeavors, the Wisconsin Fast Forward Program delivers return on investment for employers and bolsters Wisconsin’s economy, said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. The funding incentivizes businesses to provide paid internships to Wisconsin students. “Students who intern for a Wisconsin company are more likely to stay in the state after graduation, making internships a valuable workforce retention strategy,” Pechacek said.