ClevelandIntern.net:  Building a Strong Economy through an Educated Workforce

ClevelandIntern.net is a dynamic web-based service for employers and students that is designed to increase the applicant pool of educated, experienced, and empowered individuals who choose to make a living in Northeast Ohio.  The website provides employers with current information regarding the development, management, and improvement of internship programs for their organization.  The site also creates a recruitment pipeline drawn from member colleges and universities throughout the region.  Students with a broad range of skills and talents reflecting the various college specialties access the site to identify and apply for internships.

Regional Benefits:

ClevelandIntern.net is a powerful resource for the reversal of "brain drain" in Northeast Ohio.  A recent survey of employers conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that 89.2% of respondents had either an internship or co-op program in place.  Survey respondents reported offering 62% of student interns full-time jobs, with an 82% acceptance rate.  Additionally, 76.3% of survey respondents reported higher retention rates for students having previous work experience than those without.  ClevelandIntern.net is committed to increasing "brain gain" through the improvement and expansion of internships in Northeast Ohio.

Employer Benefits:

ClevelandIntern.net educates employers on the development and improvement of internship programs and creates a vehicle to expand their applicant pool of college educated talent through increased visibility and centralized access to student profiles and resumes.  Employer internship programs have been shown to reduce recruitment and training costs. 

• Internship programs provide employers with a low risk/low cost opportunity to identify and assess potential future employees.
• Internship programs decrease training time and expenses by enabling employers to hire individuals who have excelled at their companies during their college years.
• Internships offer entrepreneurs a relatively low cost means to hire the skilled talent required to expand their businesses and grow wealth.
• Internship programs provide employers with the opportunity to develop employees with the highly specialized skills required to grow in a knowledge-based economy.

Student Benefits:

ClevelandIntern.net offers students a convenient resource to research employers, identify opportunities, and apply for internships.  Various studies have shown that participation in experiential learning also enhances students' academic experiences.

• Internships have been found to correlate with increases in college retention rates and grade point averages among academically challenged students, thus increasing the pool of educated college talent as potential employees.
• Internships and cooperative education have been linked to soft skill development in areas such as problem-solving, leadership, and teamwork.
• Internships provide students with the opportunity to master the industry specific technical and research skills required in a knowledge-based economy.
• Students serving internships enhance their academic studies by learning to apply theoretical constructs learned in the classroom to real-life work situations.

National surveys indicate that 26% of students convert their internships to full-time job offers after graduation. ("College Graduation Career Survey" Experience, Inc., April 2004).  Additionally, it has been noted that students who serve an internship in a particular regional market are twice as likely to settle in that market for their first career step.  These statistics suggest that there is a strong correlation between where students have undergraduate work experiences and where they tend to seek full-time employment after graduation.

ClevelandIntern.net provides a conduit to meet the workforce needs of regional industries while preparing students for successful and satisfying careers in Northeast Ohio.