PUTNEY — Landmark College announced it has received a $20,000 grant from the Labor Department to support internship opportunities for its students.
The college was one of 16 businesses and organizations to be awarded a Vermont Internship Program Grant, which distributed a total of $450,000 among the organizations.
Jan Coplan, director of Career Connections at Landmark College, says the award will provide meaningful opportunities for students to gain valuable experience in the careers they are pursuing.
She adds that it will help the college's efforts to educate employers about the strengths of neurodivergent workers and to train managers to maximize their abilities.
“This grant funding provides our students with a terrific opportunity to gain valuable experience in careers they are pursuing,” Coplan says, pointing out that the unemployment rate for individuals with learning differences is much higher than the national average. The funding “has the added benefit of increasing the talent pipeline for partnering businesses and organizations during a challenging time to find qualified workers.”
Landmark College's Office of Career Connections partners with national corporations as well as local businesses year-round to provide a variety of internship opportunities to its students.
Previous internships have included Hasbro Inc., JPMorgan Chase, Ernst & Young, C & S Wholesale Grocers, the Vermont Genetics Network, Sidehill Farm, Farnum Insulators, Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Putney Central School, The Greenwood School, and Vermont Independent Media.
Students who participate in Landmark College internships take part in a comprehensive career readiness program that ensures a successful transition into the workforce by helping them develop career and life-readiness skills such as self-advocacy, civic engagement, financial literacy, personal accountability, problem solving, and effective interpersonal communication.
For more information, visit the Career Connections webpage at landmark.edu.