The Workforce Partnership’s School Break Externship program provides up to 100 high school and college students ages 16-24 with paid, short-term work experiences. These externships are a great opportunity for students to get work experience in the industries they are interested in while still in school. Selected participants are partnered with top employers from around San Diego County and complete the program during their winter and/or spring breaks.
Before they start, participants attend an advanced work readiness training and hiring event. Both of these events, virtual now due to COVID-19, help prepare students for their new positions and teach them how to conduct themselves in a professional setting. As participants, students are also equipped with work appropriate clothing if needed.
Over the years, both participants and the businesses that host them have found the program beneficial. “During my externship what I found most valuable was the importance of communicating effectively and asking questions when necessary,” says Jessica, a former extern. “Since my position was a remote position, I had to touch base with my employer a lot and ask him a lot of questions.”
Anayo Njorjih, an employer at Cook Casa says, “Jessica is very attentive and asks good questions. She is very motivated and turns in her projects on time. She is very excited about being a part of the externship program and has a willingness to learn.”
“Having Cody on the team for a few weeks was so helpful for Access Trax,” says Kelly Twichel at Access Trax, another employer. “First of all, Cody demonstrated good communication, time management skills, and completed tasks with very little direct oversight. His contribution included researching different adaptive sports organizations around the U.S. that could benefit from our product and services. I was then able to reach out to the leads Cody found and add to our sales pipeline, which is so important especially during the current economic crisis. Access Trax is thankful for the San Diego Workforce Partnership Externship Program and highly recommend it to other businesses!”
In our spring 2020 program alone, we placed more than 55 participants in remote positions.
To learn more about applying or hosting an extern during 2021 spring breaks, visit our School Break Externships page.