Unique paid internship program allows Avivo graduates opportunity to gain professional experience and break cycle of poverty

Thanks to the generosity of The FS Foundation, Avivo’s unique paid internship program for graduates from its IT Support Training course has helped four individuals secure full-time employment in the information technology field.

Abby was one of the first to participate in the internship program. Originally finding Avivo for help with treatment for a substance use disorder, Abby learned she could take short-term training at Avivo Institute of Career & Technical Education to start a new career. She entered Avivo’s Information Technology (IT) Support training program. After graduating, she discovered that her lack of professional experience in IT was going to hold her back.

“I passed the certification tests and started job searching, but I definitely ran into the roadblock of not having had any previous professional experience in IT,” shared Abby.

“I passed the certification tests and started job searching, but I definitely ran into the roadblock of not having had any previous professional experience in IT,” shared Abby.

That’s where a new paid internship program funded by The FS Foundation was able to step in and provide additional support. The funding enabled Avivo to hire IT Support Training Program graduates as paid interns.

“We’re grateful for The FS Foundation’s support and their willingness to work with Avivo to invest in individuals that simply need that bridge to success,’” shares Bruce Wenger, Vice President of External Relations at Avivo. “Private funders, such as The FS Foundation, give Avivo the opportunity to be innovative with our programming and increase the impact of programs. In this case, we could provide an opportunity to individuals who, for financial reasons, wouldn’t be able to accept unpaid internships.”

Staff from The FS Foundation spoke to the value of those internships and were excited to see the interns’ success, sharing, “An internship where the intern completes work as part of a company’s real business helps them practice job skills and explore a given field.”

Abby utilized that paid internship experience to flip the script on her trouble finding employment. While interning at Avivo, she started working with an Avivo business partner who places talent in local IT companies. Her experience gained her three job offers, and she has been working full-time for an employer in the field for over a year.

Thanks to this initial success, Avivo looked for ways to expand the program to continue to offer graduates valuable work experience necessary to enter their careers.

“I’m excited to share that The FS Foundation paved the way for another generous donor to enlarge this paid internship program so we’ll have more, fully-funded internships available this year,” shares Bruce.

“I’m excited to share that The FS Foundation paved the way for another generous donor to enlarge this paid internship program so we’ll have more, fully-funded internships available this year,” shares Bruce.

Thanks to generosity of this donor, Avivo plans to support an additional 25 paid internships over the next three years for graduates of Avivo’s career education programs to help them launch their careers.