Current college students’ lives will be forever shaped by COVID-19, and in the immediate term they face steep costs due to missed work opportunities. Companies that once offered internships and work-based learning opportunities are pulling back their resources and offers, at least in the short-term. Moving forward, it is likely there will be fewer human and financial resources to dedicate to these projects. Current gaps that exist between black and Latino students and their white counterparts are likely to be exacerbated by the shrinking of opportunities for recent graduates.
Before COVID-19, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation’s (BNYDC) internship program sought to bridge these gaps by connecting young people to needed opportunities in order to provide meaningful work exposure and experience, build professional networks, and build professional and technical skills. Typically, 100+ college students each year are part of internship programs that match students with over 50 businesses within the Navy Yard, often resulting in long term relationships and work opportunities. Interns are primarily drawn from CUNY campuses within Brooklyn, and align closely to the fields most prevalent in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, including advanced manufacturing, technology, fashion, food, and media.
In the wake of COVID-19, these opportunities are even more important. However, due to reduced rent payments from Navy Yard tenants (mostly small businesses that have been hit hard) the BNYDC has reduced capacity to meet the budget of the summer internship program. In conversations with Navy Yard businesses, BNYDC has determined that there are likely opportunities this year for 25-35 students, and can support some but not all of the costs. To that end, WDI will be providing financial support to close the gap in the 2020 internship budget.
We anticipate the internships will provide solid work opportunities and connections for the students, and also help the businesses restart operations and return to productivity. We look forward to learning of their outcomes at the end of the summer.
