Work Based Learning
Internships: Connecting Industry to the Classroom:
Internships give students the opportunity to explore careers they are interested in, learn a variety of skills under the guidance of adult mentors, work in teams, meet employers’ expectations and create professional relationships. Students get to know mentors making a better transition from secondary to post secondary. Students may be eligible for an internship their junior and senior year if they have good attendance, have taken a related CTE class and are online for graduation.
WBL Internships include a detailed learning plan for the acquisition of specific foundational and transferable skills expected universally across industries and specific career skills integrated with the classroom curriculum. Also, student interns are supervised by the coordinator and employees in the workplace. The school-based internship coordinators help students prepare for their internships, make site visits, confer with interns and their workplace supervisors, document progress on the learning plans, and connect with student interns for reflection and feedback.
As part of the internship experience, students are required to create and maintain a LinkedIn account as well as other work based learning activities. To apply for an internship, simply reach out to your teacher, counselor, or go to your high school’s CTE office and speak with the internship facilitator there. We have over 100 business contacts in every pathway and career where you can have an impactful and unforgettable internship experience. For more information, contact Bill Grilz, CTE Coordinator over Internships at wigrilz@wsd.net.
Student Requirements and Course Credit
The WBL Internship opportunity gives you high school credit outside of a related CTE course and is a top-tier CTE experience. We want ALL students to know they can do an internship. It places the student in a real workplace environment to develop and practice career-related knowledge that brings together skills for a specific career field related to the student’s career interests, abilities, and goals.
Internships:
* May be paid or unpaid and the student earns academic credits.
* Are connected to classroom learning in currently enrolled CTE courses and are a direct authentic application of the curriculum in the course.
* The internship is in a career field related to the student’s PCCR (Plan for College and Career Readiness)
* Develop a professional resume and learn valuable interview skill
* Are performed in partnership with local businesses and organizations
* Are accompanied by structured reflection activities & digital portfolio posts on LinkedIn that build a professional brand and accelerate networking.
* Credit is awarded upon the student’s successful completion of both the related CTE course and the internship course.
* Length of the experience is 80 hours for the semester.
* It’s a “test drive” affording students an opportunity to solidify education and/or career path decisions.
Interested in Work-based Learning?
Email Bill Grilz: wigrilz@wsd.net
and check out the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce site for potential businesses you could intern with!
Student Eligibility:
- Any student, Grades 11 – 12 can contact your teacher, counselor, or CTE office at your school.
- Explain what pathway you are interested in and we’ll find the student a customized internship
- Minimum attendance requirements, being online to graduate and a commitment to attending regularly is required.
- Formal agreements are developed under the school’s supervision and signed by the business partner as well as the students and their parents/guardians
- Weber School District CTE does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability.
Why Internships?
For employers, internships provide an opportunity to extend the interview process and evaluate the student intern’s skills, work ethic, and assimilation into the culture before incurring the expense of bringing them on full-time. Internships help employers to build relationships with WSD students and to maintain a pipeline of skilled talent for future recruitment. Employers give back to the community by providing student interns a chance to learn new skills and obtain real-world experience, creating a qualified pool of candidates for the region.
For students, internships provide an opportunity to explore a particular career path or field of study and decide what path may be for them, hone their skills, and apply their academic knowledge. Internships are a way for students to obtain valuable real-world experience, gain specific field-related exposure, skills related to career interests/goals, and make important connections for the future. They also learn collaboration,make authentic connections, apply problem solving, obtain valuable work skills, and forge mentor relationships.
Recent research suggests that comprehensive WBL programs contain three key components: the alignment of classroom and workplace learning; application of academic, technical, and employability skills in a work setting; and support from classroom or workplace mentors. The framework below illustrates the seamless and critical connection between learning and application.
