UW, Business Alliance, Community Colleges Partner to Expand Internships and Hands-On Learning

The Wyoming Business Alliance (WBA), the Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC) and the University of Wyoming have formed a new partnership aimed at enhancing opportunities for student internships and other forms of hands-on learning with Wyoming businesses and industry partners.

The partnership aims to build networks and establish lasting and meaningful relationships between Wyoming businesses and students at UW and community colleges that can increase the likelihood of keeping skilled UW graduates in Wyoming to meet critical workforce needs.

“A lack of talented workers is holding back economic growth in Wyoming. I am so pleased that UW and the community colleges are focused on trying to support Wyoming employers and provide this valuable experience for students,” says Renny MacKay, president of the WBA.

“Developing skilled graduates to enter Wyoming’s dynamic workforce is a core part of our mission as Wyoming’s only university,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “We are thrilled to enhance our partnerships with WBA and WCCC to ensure that Wyoming’s students and businesses can continue to thrive.”

“Wyoming’s community colleges are uniquely positioned to partner with the business community to place students in internships and hands-on learning experiences, because they are training students in programs that feed directly into the state’s economy,” says Paige Fenton Hughes, interim executive director of the WCCC. “Working with the Wyoming Business Alliance and the University of Wyoming helps expand opportunities for students and support employers across the state.”

Specific goals of the partnership:

-- Increase the number of internships between WBA members and students enrolled in Wyoming’s community colleges and the university.

-- Increase the number of hands-on learning opportunities between WBA members and those students.

-- Retain talent within Wyoming.

-- Support the growth of Wyoming businesses and organizations by helping to develop a pipeline of talent.

Key components of the initiative:

-- Directly advance WBA goals to support an educational system that provides students with the “real-world” skills they need to work and thrive in Wyoming.

-- Support the goals of the Wyoming Innovation Partnership by aligning education, workforce development and industry through the power of internships and hands-on learning.

-- Create and enhance mutually beneficial connections among Wyoming’s higher education institutions, business and industry partners that provide a unique opportunity to directly involve, engage and invest students in future employment opportunities across the state -- and link them to the success of their local communities.

Tools UW, the WBA and WCCC will use to carry out this partnership:

-- Conduct a participation and needs assessment to understand current participation numbers and potential barriers to internship and experimental learning opportunities, with the aim to reduce those barriers.

-- Partner on resources to support both employers and students in maximizing the value of internships and hands-on learning.

-- Establish a WBA committee on workforce recruitment and retention that will include focus on this partnership to evaluate and enhance its impact.

-- Create mechanisms to track participation in internship and hands-on learning programs, including data on location, academic focus and compensation.

About the Wyoming Business Alliance

The Wyoming Business Alliance is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing Wyoming’s economic growth and competitiveness. By representing all sectors of the state’s economy, the WBA fosters collaboration among businesses, government and communities to address key challenges and seize opportunities for a stronger Wyoming.