Internship Program Overview

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) provides internship opportunities with local businesses and organizations to students at Vermont colleges and universities This program gives students the opportunity to explore career opportunities in Vermont, and also supports the fast-growing entrepreneurial economy in Vermont. Undergraduate and Graduate Studies students can be involved in our innovative internship program, as well as recent graduates up to two years post graduation.

VBSR matches student interns with both VBSR member businesses and other local businesses in paid internships. Interns will have the opportunity to gain hands on and real-world experience in a business while businesses will benefit from the work, energy and insight of a student. Not only is it a mutually beneficial situation for the business and the student, but the state of Vermont benefits from the retention of talented people in the labor force with the goal that many of the students who complete the internship program will continue to live and work in Vermont after graduating.

The VBSR Intern Program was founded in 2008, and since that time has become widely used throughout the state. Over 140 students have been placed in internships, with at least ten of these students going on to be hired at the company they interned at. More than 100 businesses have participated in the program, and this year we expect to place between sixty and seventy new interns.

Small to medium sized businesses are creating the majority of new jobs in Vermont.  Yet 70% of businesses responding to a recent survey conducted by the Vermont Workforce Development Council said that they passed on opportunities to grow their companies because they lacked sufficient workforce capacity. Yet, our Vermont post-secondary institutions graduate over 7,000 students each year, but a majority of  them are leaving the state to find jobs elsewhere.  VBSR’s internship program works to partner a portion of those graduates in Vermont companies and contribute to Vermont’s economic development, while introducing students to the opportunities that exist here in Vermont.

The VBSR Intern Program is funded in part by the Vermont Department of Labor Workforce Education Training Fund (WETF).