#Chamber Best Practices - St. Joseph County (South Bend, Indiana) Chamber of Commerce - Talent Development

The cost of labor (#1) and highly skilled workers who have the right stuff (#3) are critical factors for companies looking for new locations, according to Area Development Online Survey Results, which has curated content from around the web focusing on all aspects of site selection, facility planning and economic development.
The St. Joseph County (Indiana) Chamber of Commerce in South Bend provides an exceptional program that serves as a key part of their Workforce Development initiatives. -----

internSJC Talent Engagement Program

Employers:
Access IndianaIntern.net to post your internship opportunities.
Intern Candidates:
Access IndianaIntern.net to view internship opportunities.

The Program
The St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce’s internSJC program is designed to increase the quantity and quality of experiential learning
in St. Joseph County. Our goal is to provide students with real-world experience that could lead to full-time employment and give companies
access to talented and enthusiastic young people.
The Chamber recognizes how important the development of talent is to our local economic development effort and believes our community needs:

• A better-orchestrated effort to recruit bright, new talent to our region.
• An avenue to help retain graduates from our local higher-education institutions.
• A mechanism to help local high school students who went away to college connect with employers when
  they return home.
• To increase the visibility and attractiveness of our community to young professionals.

There is significant room to grow internship opportunities in our community and retain top talent. By combining the Chamber of Commerce’s business connections, the universities’ student relationships and the existing online resource Indiana Internnet, St. Joseph County can attract more young professionals to the area and better fulfill the needs of local employers.
Through internSJC, the Chamber will work with employers to guide them through internship creation, help with the interview and hiring process, assist
with issues the employer may encounter and provide networking opportunities for interns. The community will utilize the established site IndianaIntern.net online as the tool whereby employers would post jobs and students would apply for a position.
Why Become Involved in an Internship Program?
An internship is a structured and supervised experiential learning opportunity that provides students with practical experience in their chosen fields. Internships illustrate classroom relevance in the professional world. Beneficial for both students and employers, internships offer career exploration and skills application for students and provide employers with workers who are creative, enthusiastic, able to assist with projects and open for mentorship.
Transitioning interns into full-time hires is also a proven time and cost-saving recruiting method. Hiring an intern is a great way to “test the waters” while you get to know an intern’s skills and abilities. If your company decides to hire a full-time employee, you should know that internship programs are  proven way to reduce recruitment time and expenditures.

Why Hire an Intern?

• Interns can:
• Complete project work that may be on the backburner
• Increase productivity
• Reduce recruiting costs
• Bring fresh, innovative perspectives to your organization

Hosting an Intern Can Allow You To:

• Mentor and cultivate our future workforce leaders
• Provide a student with a rich learning experience
• Influence school curriculum
• Encourage students to stay in their local community
• Gain short-term talent
• Increase diversity within your organization
• Offer management experience to employees working as intern supervisors
• Provide full-time employees more time to focus on important tasks
• Remain competitive within your industry
• Use social media to connect with target audiences
• Market your company via word of mouth
• Begin training potential full-time employees (more than 50% of interns accept an employment offer from their
  host company!)

And not to mention, hosting an intern is a rewarding experience. It is a great way to give back to your community because your company contributes to an intern’s personal and professional development. Source: indianaintern.net
Contact:
Kate Lee
Director, Talent Engagement
574.400.4030
klee@sjchamber.org

Source: SJC website