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Ladders for Leaders Summer Internship Program
A talent solution for New York City’s Hospitality Employers
Ladders for Leaders is a nationally recognized competitive paid internship program supported by the NYC Center for Youth Employment that connects high-achieving high school and college students with leading businesses and corporations in New York City. Among the 475 organizations that hosted interns in 2016 are prominent organizations such as Bank of America, AOL, Macy's, Amalgamated Bank, Medidata, and Pandora.
In 2016, hospitality industry employers participating in Ladders for Leaders as financial supporters or host employers included the Marriott Marquis, Starwood Hotels and Born Hotels. Starwood and Born interns worked in non-union, “back-office” roles including Hotel Operations, Human Resources, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, and Sales.
Caroline Gleser, Vice-President for BD Hotels, has worked with Ladders for Leaders since 2015. She describes the interns as “young and hungry,” and observes, “It’s always good to have young blood around to see things with fresh eyes and ask questions.”
BD utilized interns in a variety of departments and roles, including sales, accounting, design, research and more. Tasks varied from filing to helping out with logistical arrangements and operations handbooks.
“This is going to be our third year participating in the program through our hotels,” she adds. “These young people were all extremely professional and eager. They wanted to be there, and to learn as much as they could.”
About Ladders for Leaders
- The program is open to high school and college students between the ages of 16- 22 who have at least a 3.0 grade point average and previous work experience, and reside in New York City.
- Participants engage in a rigorous application process, followed by interviews with prospective host employers and up to 30 hours of pre-internship training on how to function effectively in a professional environment. Interns and employers both have access to ongoing support through the summer.
- The program typically starts the first week in July with some flexibility for earlier or later starts. Participants work a minimum of 25 hours per week for at least six weeks, and by agreement with the employer can work as many as 40 hours per week for a longer period of time.
- Participating employers are required to pay their interns at least the New York State minimum wage ($11 per hour), although many employers pay above that rate. Employers are not responsible for all other program costs, including the fee for the service provider organization that identifies, screens, and matches the intern candidates to your organization, and conducts pre-internship training.
- More than a third of the 1,538 interns who participated in 2016 received employment offers beyond the conclusion of the program, and 98 percent of participating employers reported having a positive experience with their interns.
CYE Employer Best Practices Playbook
- To support Ladders host sites, the Center for Youth Employment has created an Employer Best Practices Playbook, featuring tools and strategies from dozens of companies in New York City and beyond that have created internship programs offering significant value to intern and host organization alike.
- The Playbook presents specific guidance, including downloadable materials, to support employers at each step of the internship process—from recruitment, interviewing and project planning to supervision and evaluation—vital to a summer experience that benefits both intern and host employer.
We urge our members to participate in the city's program. For more information or to sign up please contact Richard Rosen at rrosen@cityhall.nyc.gov or by calling (212) 442-6068. |
