Six University of Northern B.C. graduates began work with Northern Development Initiative Trust this month, kicking off the region’s firstever local government internship program. The year-long internship will provide the graduates with the ability to leverage the education and skills they gained at UNBC in communities throughout central and northern B.C. The goal of the program is to train graduates for long-term, rewarding careers in local government – and to keep northerners working and enjoying the lifestyle the north has to offer. “The need for bright, skilled young workers to support the coming growth across the north is now more apparent than ever before,” said Janine North, CEO, Northern Development Initiative Trust. “Our hope is that, through a partnership with UNBC, we’ll find those graduates who are passionate about the north and want to work for communities across the region to build a stronger north.”
The program represents a partnership between Northern Development, UNBC and the Local Government Management Association. The interns will spend a month getting hands-on economic development experience at Northern Development’s office in Prince George, before heading to communities throughout the region including: Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, Valemount, McBride, Fort St. James, Mackenzie and Prince George.
This new internship program builds on the Trust’s existing internship program, which in previous years has trained recent UNBC graduates for economic development positions throughout central and northern B.C.
Many past interns have found rewarding and highprofile careers in communities such as Terrace, Prince Rupert, Williams Lake and Kamloops. That six-month program will continue this year with four new economic development interns, as well as a finance intern and a communications intern who will be working with communities throughout central and northern B.C. to get more good news out about the region.
