Immediate Release

Contact: Rosemary Carole  

Friday, July 13, 2001

Economic Development Liaison

798-5908

Eannace Announces Record Support
For Oneida County College Student Corps

 

UTICA – Oneida County Executive Ralph J. Eannace, Jr. today announced that the Oneida County College Student Corps has received the largest private sector support in its four-year history.

"The employers of Oneida County are often the unsung heroes in our community," Eannace said. "I want to salute our employers for their willingness to step up and help us hire a record number of summer interns."

This summer, 159 interns are employed through the College Student Corps, which matches Oneida County’s young people with summer job opportunities in the region’s revived economy. That total is the largest in the program’s history.

Eannace said the increase was possible because of three factors:

  • The continued support of the Oneida County Board of Legislators, which created the program in 1998 and has funded it every year;
  • A $30,000 Challenge Grant this spring from the Community Foundation of Oneida and Herkimer Counties, Inc., which served as a catalyst to increase private-sector support for the program;
  • Employers who contributed $104,105 to the program, more than four times the $25,000 raised from employers in 2000.

"We are able to serve more young people without putting any increased burden on our county taxpayers because our employers have recognized the value in this program and are willing to become full partners in our efforts to retain Oneida County’s top young talent," Eannace said. "The College Student Corps is doing a terrific job of helping our college students understand that good jobs and exciting opportunities exist in the Mohawk Valley. When you talk to students who have been a part of this program, they are full of optimism and hope -- just what this region needs."

College Student Corps interns are paid $7 an hour and usually work between 25 and 35 hours a week. The summer internships last between 6 and 8 weeks. Students also participate in a labor market overview, social events and receive employment assistance after they graduate from college. The program targets college juniors and seniors.

The Oneida County College Student Corps was begun in 1998 by the Oneida County Board of Legislators to connect top-flight students and area employer. Students learn about the region’s great job opportunities in their fields of study. Employers get energetic interns who are carefully matched to their needs. Oneida County screens applicants and also takes care of all the paperwork involved in the program.

"We have a lot of great young people in Oneida County and we have a lot of great companies with wonderful career opportunities. The College Student Corps brings them both together, and all of Oneida County benefits," said Board of Legislators Chairman Gerald Fiorini of Rome.

The program has a track record of success. Seventy-five percent of last year’s interns responding to surveys said they would like to work in the Mohawk Valley after graduation from college.

"The College Student Corps is one piece of our long-range plan to ensure that Oneida County’s employers have the top talent they need, and that the young people from right here in our community understand they can have the exciting careers they want and still be near the families they love," Eannace said.