Why seek a paid internship? A paid internship is a great way for job seekers with barriers to employment to gain work experiences with room for growth. There are multiple reasons why a job seeker might be challenged to secure work, including low income, lack of experience, lack of education, transportation challenges, or an incarceration record. We believe that all people have a right to dignified work enabling them to be financially stable and free from economic challenges such as poverty and all that surrounds that issue.
There are many professional internships for students during summer breaks and after college that are unpaid, building experience and knowledge and also expanding the intern’s professional networks as a continuation of their educational track. Some unpaid internships translate into college credits for interns. And unpaid interns can gain considerable value in the form of access to professional networks and letters of recommendation from executives in their industry. It may even be considered a luxury to be able to take an unpaid internship. And clearly it would be a valuable part of building a professional career.
But for some obvious reasons it can also be very helpful to gain experience in a paid internship. Perhaps the most obvious reason: pay. But there are also other very important factors to consider: candidates seeking work in a paid internship may not be in a financial position to accept unpaid work and may also not have entered into a secondary education track. They may have plans to enter into a trade that might require a future apprenticeship (which lasts longer than an internship) as a requirement of the field or a training course to gain a certification or licensure. A paid internship will build skills and experience as well as financially support the intern and many paid internships have the potential of becoming intern-to-hire, with opportunities to stay on the job as a permanent employee.
A paid internship placement through the African American Christian Foundation is a great way for job seekers to try out something new, to learn on the job while earning a paycheck, and to be a part of a supportive workforce development program. It can be a budding start to a well-earning career in a health-related field such as Pharmacy Technician or Certified Nursing Assistant. Other careers that our paid internships might lead to are customer service, security, and commercial truck driver. The majority of these professional fields include health benefits, paid time off, and retirement plans.
Let us be your foundation for a leg up in the professional world. Whatever your background, whatever education you currently possess, there is a job for you and we can place you in a position where the only direction you can go is up! Reach out to us if you are seeking a paid internship, job placement, or job training. We are here to help you reach your career goals!