My idea is to get business and industry partners to donate funds to pay for student interns. In partnership with Kelly Services (which is a temp agency) the funds donated would be paid to students as they work. Students would be employees of the temp agency who assumes all the insurance costs and employment costs. Employers can hire the students based on project needs. In our school district we have the ICTS department (which is IT dept in some cases) who hire these students over the summer to help with setting up computer labs in elementary, middle and high schools. They are temporary employees and do not take any work away for current employees.These students are selected from programs that offer this training during the school year. So students not only take classes (mostly elective classes) but are afforded an opportunity to take what they learned during the school year and apply those skills on a job. If offers young people the opportunity to have a taste of their future occupation and make an informed decision as to what field they want t enter. Employers benefit because they do not have the resources to hire and it eliminates the cost associated with new hires. Employers do have the opportunity to select the students to fit their needs. Students who participate are also enrolled in a summer work study class so besides being paid they get high school credit. It is a win-win for students to be employed (and earn high school credit), for employers to get those special projects completed and a learning experience for all.
I am a teacher on assignment in a large school district in Florida and the idea for this project was based on growning budget cuts that school districts are facing. We piloted this project last year with 16 students. Our goal is to grow and add more students. I think I would use the funds to get the word out to the community to support this project. It is a great opportunity for students to try to focus on their futures to make informed decisions about job outlook and help them to make good choices when it comes to college.
