MCC Student Manufacturing Internship Program celebrates successful year

Students joined McHenry County officials, county partners and local manufacturers at McHenry County College last month to celebrate a successful summer for the Manufacturing Pathways Rotational Internship Program.

The event, held Aug. 31, commemorated the second year of the program, which partners high school students interested in pursuing manufacturing careers with local manufacturers offering paid internships. This summer, 89 students worked with 22 host companies, seven of whom were subsequently hired full-time.

County Board Chairman Michael Buehler lauded the program as a crown jewel of the Advance McHenry County initiative, which invested millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funding into programs that directly benefit the community. One of the first grants approved by the McHenry County Board was a $717,300 award to MCC and the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium to get the internship program started.

Next summer will mark the third and final year of the program. Applications to participate will be available in early 2024. The application portal, when it opens, will be found on the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium website, mfgpathways.com.