PRESS RELEASE                                                                      Contact:

February 15, 2008                                                                                 Kristi Holman

                                                                                                            214-926-0589 (cell)

                                                                                                            kholman@tetc.us

“All Across Texas” Program Works to Keep Brightest Talent in Texas

Educators Praise Statewide Program for Connecting Students with Industry Internship Opportunities

Austin, TX – The Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium (TETC) recently launched “All Across Texas” to link companies with the brightest engineering and computer science students in Texas.

The program’s web site www.allacrosstexas.us provides a single point of outreach for companies to market paid internships, in addition to being able to influence students beyond the traditional internship experience by providing professional development, leadership development and mentoring.

“All Across Texas is an excellent resource for Texas Instruments,” stated Ben Clennon, Manager of Student Programs at Texas Instruments in Dallas. “By connecting with these students, TI has a greater opportunity to fill our internship program with individuals who will potentially serve as the future innovators and leaders of our company.”

The web site also serves as a single point of reference for deans, faculty and students from accredited engineering and computer science baccalaureate programs to gain access to paid internship opportunities for their students throughout the state. 

“Our Texas universities are world leaders in research and education, and our state is home to a growing number of innovative technology companies,” commented Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison regarding the importance of technology and education in the state of Texas.  “We must maintain this competitive edge and give our institutions of higher education the resources they need to prepare students for employment in this crucial sector.”

Participating interns will have the opportunity to attend Leadership Development Week on June 1-6 on the SMU campus in Dallas, a week-long camp that will provide interns with information about preparing for the workforce such as effective interviewing and professional skills.  These interns will also be required to participate in professional development opportunities including lectures, demonstrations and mentoring by industry experts.

 “All Across Texas” also includes a Student Ambassador Program.  Through presentations, participating college interns share with high school students across Texas why they chose engineering as a field of study and future career, as well as their knowledge and experiences gained during their internships.  These interns serve as role models for future engineering interns, and as advocates for a stronger engineering and computer science workforce.

Chris Christensen, an engineering student at Southern Methodist University, stated, “When I first heard about All Across Texas, I saw it as an opportunity for students to jump-start their career in the engineering field – it’s great to see Texas making it easier for us to succeed!”  Finally, the program will serve to gather data from the participating companies, schools and interns to assess workforce requirements versus available skill sets.  From this assessment, the program will be able to identify best practices for developing and training new workers to ensure they have the core competencies and critical skills needed in the workforce.

All Across Texas is made possible by grant funds provided by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) through the Wagner Peyser Act 7(b), which helps to provide benefits & services related to employment/training needs in the state of Texas.