talking to one another and we aren’t connecting the dots properly.” As the Chamber’s task force thought through what the internship should look like, they determined it should be paid. That is fairly unusual for high school internship opportunities, but Banzhaf said students too often must turn down more traditional programs because they don’t have the luxury of going without a paycheck when they have to help support their families or prepare for life after school. She also wanted to reach incoming seniors before “senior-itis” kicked in. And while the taskforce had identified about 10 industry sectors with employee shortfalls, she wanted to pilot one, noting, “We have to walk before we run.” Auto technology was the first. And then the work really began. TUSD met with the auto technology sector to review the curriculum being taught and ensure that in addition to the state mandates, their programs were teaching the skills businesses needed. In addition to tweaking the program to more closely align with business needs, the district then identified students based on the criteria outlined by the businesses: • The students had to be enrolled in the auto tech program. • They had to have a passion for the work. • And while they didn’t have to have the highest grade-point average, their attendance had to be up to par. If they didn’t go to school, they might not get to the job site either. www.BizTucson.com
Most of the students stayed on longer than the six-week program. In Williams’ case, her intern stayed on longer and signed up to work both the fall and winter breaks. He will be hired on fulltime after graduation and the company will pay for his continued schooling in the auto technology program at Pima Community College. Williams couldn’t be happier. “It’s clear to those of us who watch industry trends, that we’re in a place where there will be a lot of technicians retiring soon and there aren’t people ready to move into the field to replace them,” she said. “This gives students exposure to the industry, and at the same time, you’ve got these students now who will graduate into really great careers and who will be contributing members of our own community, instead of going elsewhere.” TUSD’s Sanchez said the district is honored to work with the Chamber on this program. “It is our hope that businesses in the Tucson community take advantage of the opportunity to join forces with us and the Tucson Metro Chamber to provide on-the-job experience to our students as well as reap the benefits of the hard work and dedication our interns will provide,” Sanchez said. Banzhaf said work is beginning now to gear up for next summer, including an expansion to four additional sectors – healthcare, engineering sciences, hospitality and construction. She is in the process of identifying companies who are willing to participate. “I took on this project because the Chamber cares about our community,”
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Connecting our future workforce with the companies who need qualified workers – that’s the right place for the Chamber to be.
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Lori Banzhaf Executive VP Tucson Metro Chamber –
she said. “Connecting our future workforce with the companies who need qualified workers – that’s the right place for the Chamber to be.”
Biz
Businesses interested in this internship program can contact Lori Banzhaf at 792-2250 Ext. 152 or lbanzhaf@tucsonchamber.org.
Winter 2017
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