When Zack Williams of Valley Center was in his last year of high school, he didn't know what he was going to do next. All he knew was that he loved working with his hands.
It was 2018, and his best friend was in the same boat.
"One of my closest friends, his mom worked for one of those work-center facilities that help people find jobs. She called us up one day and said, 'Hey, they have some open interviews for some summer internships,'" Williams said. "What's the worst thing that could happen?"
Williams and his friend scored internships at Textron Aviation, with Williams working with sheet metals. The day after he completed his eight-week internship, he was hired on full-time, using his carpentry skills to create the interiors for planes at the company's interior center.
"I love my job," he said. "It's as amazing as it could be."
Williams was like thousands of high school graduates unsure of their futures.
| Rank | Prior Rank | Name / URL |
|---|
1 | 1 | Textron Aviation |
2 | 2 | Koch Industries |
3 | 3 | Adams Brown |
View This ListIn 2023, the Workforce Alliance connected more than 5,700 area students with internships, engaging 27 schools in 16 districts. In addition, the Alliance worked with more than 400 employers to bring opportunities to area students.
The Workforce Alliance, high schools and businesses are informing students about summer internships, with opportunities in finance, manufacturing, health care and public safety.
"It's making sure that youth understand that they can be in these spaces, and it's not abnormal, that you can be the CEO someday — that you can be that leader in whatever position, and that you can be a leader right now, too," said Wichita mayor Lily Wu, who participated in internships at KSNW-TV and Textron Aviation during high school. "Not only is it a sense of belonging, but it's a sense of possibility."
Wu said the possibilities represented by her internships motivated her.
Businesses and the community also benefit, said Keith Lawing, president and CEO of the Workforce Alliance.
"Kids need to be exposed to Wichita careers," he said. "If they have a relationship with an employer, even if they go off to college, they will likely come back here."
Lawing cited a 2022 Brookings report on youth summer internships in Boston that showed growing evidence around the correlation between crime and academic outcomes. The report focused on private-sector job placement and found positive effects on school attendance, course performance, test scores and high school graduation rates. It also saw a decrease in arrests.
Last year, the Wichita-area youth employment project helped students find jobs with area employers, including the Greater Wichita YMCA, Wichita Public Schools and other employers. The city of Wichita has its own internship program as well.
"There are multiple options," said Kelly Bielefeld, superintendent of the Wichita school district. "It's broader than aviation; it cuts across every sector."
Spirit AeroSystems, Professional Engineering Consultants, Dondlinger Construction, the Wichita Wind Surge and Heartspring offer internships, as do dozens of smaller companies, including those that have space for only one student. Some businesses only offer internships to college students, but many are there to help those in high school, as well. No matter the interest, said Workforce Alliance vice president and chief business development offer Amanda Duncan, the organization can match interns with the right businesses.
"We help them identify the right student," Duncan said. "The business signs up for the number of students they are willing to host in the summer, they are assigned a supervisor, and the student is aligned with that supervisor."
Finding the right match helps students understand what is available and businesses find future employees. In addition, by learning about the many opportunities in the area, students are more likely to come back "home" after graduating from college or trade school, Lawing said.
For 2024, Textron will interview 325 intern applicants out of the 400 who applied for its eight-week program. About 160 students will get the slots, but those not taken can apply at other area businesses through the Workforce Alliance program.
Lawing said he hopes more smaller businesses will sign up for interns, but he said the cost barrier often keeps them away, saying it could cost a business around $3,000 for the summer. But, he said, companies might profit from someone in high school that understands social media or technology skills.
"This has to be simple for the business community," he said. "We're investing in the future."
The Alliance saw a 60% increase in interns from 2022 to 2023, and a 78% increase in participating businesses during the same time.
"Kids want to work," said Michele Gifford, human resources director at Textron Aviation.
Textron Aviation started its high school internship program with five students in 2017.
Steven Kurtzweil, a graduate of Goddard High School, knew he wanted to be an engineer, but he was positive after completing his internship with the structural dynamics group at Textron Aviation in 2019.
"I was given a problem related to a landing gear and wrote some code to try to model this part of the landing gear and figure out what the problem was," he said.
After his internship, Kurtzweil, a National Merit finalist, attended Wichita State University and majored in computer engineering — all the while working at Textron Aviation in a part-time college internship program. After graduation, he started full-time with the company's electronics development group, working on printed circuit board design.
Not everyone who participates in each company's internship goes into the field. Textron Aviation helped Connor Rockey, 23, decide engineering is not for him.
"It gave me the opportunity to work in a sort of engineering environment," he said. "The opportunity was nice."
Although Rockey loved math and science, he realized his passion was not in engineering. After graduating college with a geology degree from WSU, Rockey is currently working on a geological internship in Kansas City.
"We need every single one of our 2,600 graduates to be ready for the workforce or ready for college," Bielefeld said. "We need them to feel like they belong."
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROJECT
The Workforce Alliance provides each business that offers an internship:
- One-on-one assistance by tailoring a specific job description based on the current position needs of the business.
- Handling the onboarding process and payroll, eliminating time that would be imposed on the company's staff.
- Coordinating interview dates and times.
- Providing a pool of candidates with specific interests in each specific business industry.
- Assigning a job coach to work with each young adult so they can improve, learn and grow throughout their work experience.