A new grant will help those preparing for Texas engineering jobs to find internships.

The Texas Workforce Commission recently awarded a $150,000 grant to the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium to help establish the Center for College and Career Preparedness for the All Across Texas internship program.

The goal of the center is to make it easier for college students, teachers and administrators to request speakers, schedule field trips, register site tours and connect with professional development resources.

"There is great economic opportunity in Texas, and we have plenty of young people with the mental horsepower it takes to complete a high-tech degree, so we're working harder to connect the two," Gov. Rick Perry said. "The All Across Texas internship program is the next step in our efforts to improve the quality of education in our state and further groom our workforce of the future to compete in the global marketplace."

Through the All Across Texas program, 30 companies are able to market 200 paid internships to students, as well as provide them with professional and leadership development and mentoring.

Any student pursuing an engineering or computer science bachelor's degree at an accredited university or college in Texas is eligible to participate in the program. Those who get internships much participate in professional development opportunities, including lectures, demonstrations and mentoring by industry experts.

TETC is a partnership between industry, higher education and government officials. The consortium works to increase the quantity and quality of engineers and computer scientists with degrees and encourage cooperative relationships between industry and institutions of higher education that offer engineering and computer science degrees.

Labels: Texas engineering jobs