Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) has opened a new round of grant funding aimed at helping kickstart internships with employers across the state for Iowa’s youth.
Each year, the Summer Youth Internship Program provides young Iowans with the chance to gain valuable summer work experience in the state’s high-demand fields. The program’s goal is to drive new interest in careers and lay the groundwork for the future workforce pipeline.
“In order to build our future workforce, we must actively engage our state’s youth and connect them to the promising careers that exist across Iowa,” Beth Townsend, IWD’s executive director, said in a news release. “Iowa’s Summer Youth Internship Program creates opportunities for youth to learn more about these exciting careers while also gaining valuable work experience. I strongly encourage any employer looking to grow its talent pipeline to participate in this innovative program.”
The state funding can help Iowa employers develop internship programs for high school students and youth (ages 14-24). Eligible applicants include nonprofits, educational institutions, employers, and community organizations. Recipients may use their grants for participant wages, compensation after program completion, training resources, program supplies and materials, and administrative costs.
Over the past six years, the state has invested slightly less than $5 million in the internship program. That helped support nearly 1,700 internships, Jesse Dougherty, IWD’s marketing and communications officer, told the QCBJ in an email. The strongest support for internships came during the severe worker shortage following the pandemic, he said.
IWD boasts big reach
Here’s a look at the IWD program’s annual investment and reach:
- 2024: $321,080; six projects, 115 participants.
- 2023: $379,000; eight projects, 176 participants.
- 2022: $2,160,216; 34 projects, 649 participants.
- 2021: $1,611,415; 26 projects, 560 participants
- 2020: $250,000; four projects, 94 participants.
- 2019: $215,778, three projects, 113 participants.
Last April, the state awarded more than $300,000 to help kickstart projects with employers in Des Moines, Carroll, Indianola, Ankeny, Marshalltown and Mount Ayr.
This year, IWD will award a total of $250,000 in grants. Individual awards varied in amounts depending on the project’s scope. The maximum funding for each award is $60,000. Applications now are open at iowagrants.gov and will be accepted through 2 p.m., Monday, March 10.
Zoom webinar available
To assist applicants in the grant process, IWD will host a Zoom grant webinar at 1 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20. Register here for the webinar.
The state agency said priority funding will be given to programs that:
- 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 workforce).
- Provide evidence of the ability to recruit and co-enroll internship participants in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Youth Program in their local area.
Programs must be based in a high-demand occupation as determined by the state. To learn what occupations are eligible, see Future Ready Iowa data here. Awards are typically announced in late March to allow employers time to expand their programs and recruit interns.
To view a full list of grant requirements and the notice of funding, visit: Summer Youth Internship Program.
