About the School-Year Internships Model

The WorkReady School-Year Internship (SYI) model used in seven Philadelphia public high schools combines resources of the school district, local employers, and the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN), a workforce intermediary that acts as the managing organization. The model offers high school students exposure to careers, a chance to develop employment skills, and contact with caring adults. WorkReady School-Year Internships encourage participants to make informed career decisions—decisions that can affect both their future livelihoods and the economic health of their community.

The WorkReady School-Year Internship model places 11th and 12th grade students in 12-to-24-week paid internships that align with the school semester schedule. Students work approximately 10 to 20 hours per week at their worksites. Participating employers provide both work experiences that build employability skills and supervisors who guide students to develop confidence in negotiating the world beyond their immediate communities. (Ideally, school-year internships lead to summer internships for the students.) Prior to the school-year internships, a school-based internship coordinator prescreens, orients, and helps the students develop résumés in preparation for interviews with their supervisors. Once the interns have been hired, the coordinator conducts professional development workshops to help interns connect what they are learning in school to what they are learning on the job. For their part, the schools establish policies and procedures that support the internships, including rostering students so they can spend part of the school day on the job. A managing organization or the school recruits employers, administers funding, which is used primarily for the interns' wages and payroll services, and provides technical assistance and training for supervisors and the school-based internship coordinator. The WorkReady School-Year Internship model is adaptable. Alternatives—and other school-year internship programs—are described throughout this guide.