Brian J. Case, Courteney Cox, and Jess Messinger (respectively) will be speakers at the Lehigh Valley Internship Summit. (courtesy photos)

The popular Lehigh Valley Internship Summit is returning for a third consecutive year, providing businesses information about how to establish and expand successful internship programs in order to connect them with future talent.

The event, which will be held virtually during two sessions on Oct. 14, will bring together employers and educators across the Lehigh Valley to discuss how to establish successful internship programs, how to structure programs in an engaging way that benefit both the company and intern, and how to attract interns of today.

Karianne Gelinas, LVEDC Vice President of Business Development and Talent Supply

“We’ve engaged knowledgeable presenters who will share their expertise, successes, and stories with other members of the Lehigh Valley community who are looking to engage their future workforce through internships,” said Karianne Gelinas, Vice President of Business Development and Talent Supply of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC).

Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Visit here to register for the Lehigh Valley Internship Summit.

Sponsorships for the event are still available. For more information about sponsorships, contact LVEDC Vice President Marketing, Communications and Research George Lewis at glewis@lehighvalley.org.

The Lehigh Valley Internship Summit also aims to increase access for Lehigh Valley employers to the talent base in the region’s colleges and universities, and to inform businesses about the factors that prospective interns most often seek from employers and internships programs.

“Connecting with the best and brightest talent is of primary importance to Lehigh Valley employers,” Gelinas said. “Hosting internships with local students can effectively build these connections between businesses and their future employees.”

The Lehigh Valley Internship Summit is hosted by LVEDC and the LVEDC Education & Talent Supply Council, in partnership with regional businesses, colleges and universities. It will be held via Zoom during two one-hour sessions on Oct. 14, beginning at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Each hour-long session will be broken up into a 30-minute presentation, a 15-minute question-and-answer session, and a 15-minute breakout room.

The first session, “Understanding What Interns Value,” will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and include two speakers from PPL: Brian Case, Manager of Corporate Talent Management & Diversity, and Jessica Mersinger, Senior Organizational Development Consultant.

The second session, held from 11 a.m. to 12 noon, will be entitled “Engaging Interns Today,” and will feature speaker Courteney Cox, Human Resources Coordinator at Lutron.

The LVEDC Education & Talent Supply Council is a partnership of Lehigh Valley educational institutions, major employers, and economic development and workforce agencies focused on creating and executing regional strategies that help the Lehigh Valley maintain a competitive workforce and talent supply.

LVEDC also provides an internship toolkit for Lehigh Valley employers. The 16-page booklet provides information about various types of internships, how to start and market an internship program, how to write position descriptions, internship evaluation criteria, and more.