Impact of the Industry Scholars Program
At the Industry Scholars Program, we’re proud to make a difference in the lives of New York City’s youth. Each year, we connect thousands of students to transformative work-based learning opportunities, guided by our dedicated network of sector intermediaries and employer partners. From borough-wide reach to equitable gender representation, our impact is far-reaching, empowering the next generation to succeed in the ever-evolving workforce.
Overall work based learning outcomes
Since its launch, the ISP has provided over 7,187 NYC high school students with industry-aligned internships, paying out $3.15M in wages. The program continues to expand yearly by refining its model, processes, and technology.
Number of students placed into work-based learning opportunities in the last 5 years:
Approximate yearly distribution of opportunities by industry
Intermediary support and growth
ISP’s approach leverages intermediaries to build strong employer relationships and secure work-based learning opportunities while enhancing school capacity for sustained partnerships. Grant Associates leads this effort, providing strategic guidance across eight industry sectors, ensuring thousands of high school students receive high-quality work-based learning experiences.
Borough reach
ISP serves students across all five boroughs of New York City, ensuring broad access to career development opportunities. By engaging students from every part of the city, we foster diverse talent and provide equitable access to industry-aligned internships and career exploration.
Participant borough of residence
Participants Borough of Residence
ISP Interns by Gender
54%
self-identified as female.
46%
self-identified as male.
Over the years we worked to ensure that all our opportunities are inclusive and represent the population we serve.
Intermediary Support & Growth
ISP relies on an implementation approach that leverages intermediary support: the intermediary cultivates working relationships with sector-specific employers to secure relevant work-based learning opportunities while building school level capacity to develop strong partnerships and implement a continuum of work-based learning programming.
Grant Associates is the lead intermediary implementing the program and providing leadership, strategic and operational guidance for all sector-based intermediary partners serving eight industry verticals and thousands of high school students with high quality work-based learning.
Program Growth by Industry Cluster
- Year 1 Actuals
- Year 2 Actuals
- Year 3 Actuals
Virtual Programming
During the 2020-2021 school year, we successfully transitioned to a fully virtual model offering structured, meaningful work experiences that aligned with students’ career interests and supported the program’s evolution.
Within months of the shutdown brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to offer 603 remote opportunities to students and continue to serve our NYC-based employers that were equipped to provide virtual opportunities. We also learned that the skilled talents of our students expanded our reach to a national audience of employers. This was the first time that we were able to serve employers from coast to coast (from California to Florida).
Given the imminent need to evolve our programming tools, we revised our existing Work-Based Learning Toolkit. In its fourth edition, the toolkit was expanded to include virtual work-based learning and career development activities to guide virtual WBL.
***Currently, as per NYC Public Schools, ISP is transitioning back to mostly in-person internships in NYC to ensure better quality of these work opportunities. Our program may provide alternatives for virtual partners to host students.