WASHINGTON — It is hard to find qualified interns, but the Maryland Tech Council has come up with a way to make it easier for Maryland tech companies.
Its new website, in-MD.org, sends continuously updated lists of internship opportunities and screens potential candidates across all of Maryland’s higher-education institutions.
It addresses one of the biggest frustrations the tech council’s members cite.
“In order to reach all potential interns in the state, companies have to connect individually with each college and university. This platform is a community-based platform where you put your internship into one spot and it reaches all universities and community colleges across the state,” Tami Howie, chief executive at the Maryland Tech Council told WTOP.
The idea is to make it easier for small technology companies or biotechnology companies that may not have a big HR department or internship department to connect with students. And to keep Maryland’s newly minted tech talent in Maryland, who might otherwise be looking out-of-state for intern opportunities.
Through a partnership with the Maryland Tech Council, in-MD.org is also helping smaller companies offer paid internships.
“Any company that is 50 employees or fewer that takes on an intern gets the lesser of $3,000 or 50 percent of what they spend on an intern, which is amazing, because I have three kids in college right now, and incentivizing companies to give paid internships rather than just internships is really helpful for the students also,” Howie said.
The platform is available to all Maryland companies (tech or not) and there is no cost. All a company has to do is upload their internships to the platform, and become part of the community.
The site also includes webinars and online courses for potential interns to take to see if their skills match the requirements of particular internships they are interested in.
Intern interviews can also be conducted online, eliminating the need for students to travel to companies to be screened for open internships.
In-MD.org is in beta testing right now, but should be up and running by mid-February. The Maryland Tech Council expects to have a full host of internships up by summer.
The Maryland Tech Council developed the internship platform with the support of the Maryland Department of Commerce and the Maryland Department of Labor after feedback from its members about the difficulty in reaching out to multiple schools for potential interns.
