The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s CareerEdge workforce initiative is partnering with Suncoast Technical College (STC) to place STC's full-time trade students, who are just months away from graduation, in paid internships to gain hands-on skills, course credit and a paycheck while schools are closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to the evolving needs during this time, CareerEdge adapted its Intern Reimbursement program model to make funding for this program possible. CareerEdge funding will reimburse participating employers $10 per hour of the intern’s wage and is asking companies to pay interns at least $13/hour.  CareerEdge is seeking employers in construction, HVAC, electrical, automotive, manufacturing, and plumbing to hire technical school student interns to continue their education through a quality on-the-job training experience. When schools reopen, the students will return to complete their programs. Suncoast Technical School is developing a procedure to count the internship toward the students’ certification.