More than 25 high school juniors kicked off their summer internships on Friday as part of the 2022 Summer Rock County Internship Program’s Signing and Orientation event at The Barn on Prairie.

Through a partnership with Blackhawk Technical College, the County of Rock, Rock County 5.0 and the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, the 2022 Summer Rock Internship Program is a paid, six-week earn-and-learn opportunity that provides students with a structured and meaningful career pathway experience. The Summer 2022 cohort is the third time this program has been offered in Rock County, as the program was operational before the pandemic arrived. This summer’s program will conclude on July 29 with an intern graduation and capstone presentation day event.

Students participating in the Rock Internship Program were required to submit a resume, a letter of recommendation, and an academic and career plan. These background items, as well as other factors such as a student’s identified career pathway and/or actual occupation of interest, were used to match students with their worksites. For a sampling of the internship descriptions, as well as information about the employers that stepped forward to serve as host intern worksites, please visit yourrockinternship.com.

The Rock Internship Program represents one of the many workforce development resources that area employers can leverage to build their talent pipelines. As a matter of fact, Wisconsin’s Registered Apprenticeship program was featured at last month’s Stateline Manufacturing Alliance’s Manufacturing Signing Day. In a few weeks, 16 high school instructors and/or related career /college readiness staff will be participating in the Rock Externship Program.

To learn more about these workforce and talent development initiatives, please contact BTC’s Workforce & Community Development at businessdevelopment@blackhawk.edu or 608-757-7623.

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