South Dakota Department of Labor
700 Governors Drive
Pierre, SD 57501
For Immediate Release: Thursday, July 9, 2009
Media Contact: Dawn Dovre, 605.773.3094
Workforce Development Council Approves Internships
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Council met today in Pierre for its quarterly meeting and approved 18 businesses for Dakota Seeds-funded internships.
The annual election of officers was also held.
Dakota Seeds is part of the Workforce 2025 initiative designed to create new internships and assistantships in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Funding is available to assist with the wages of employees.
Dakota Seeds will provide grants covering up to one-half of a position's wages, with a maximum of $2,000 for undergraduate or graduate student internships, and $8,000 for master’s degree students, and $10,000 for PhD students who are working as research and development assistants.
Employers approved for grants today include:
· Sioux Valley Energy, Colman
· Mitchell Telecom, Mitchell
· Brown Construction, North Sioux City
· Wildcat Manufacturing, Freeman
· Martin Group, Mitchell
· Morris, Inc., Fort Pierre
· BrightPlanet II, Sioux Falls
· Clark Engineering, Sioux Falls
· South Dakota Discovery Center, Pierre
· VistaComm, Sioux Falls
· RESPEC, Rapid City
· Eisenbraun & Associates, Yankton
· Planning & Development District III, Yankton
· 9 Clouds, Inc., Sioux Falls
· Dakota Power, LLC, Rapid City
· American Science and Technology, Brookings
· AlphaGenix, Sioux Falls
· 3M, Brookings
Warren Lotsberg of Huron was unanimously re-elected as Chairman, and Pat Lund of Sioux Falls was unanimously re-elected as Vice Chairwoman.
Members of the Workforce Development Council represent various business, labor and education interests. A majority of its members are from the private sector, including Lotsberg and Lund.
Council membership also includes Cabinet members from the South DakotaDepartments of Labor, Education, Human Services, Tourism and State Development, and the Executive Director of the Board of Regents.
The Council was formed in 1994 to plan and evaluate job training and education programs in South Dakota and to advise the Governor on its findings. Another function is to set policy and oversee implementation of the Workforce Investment Act.
For more information, visit the Department of Labor’s website
www.sdjobs.org.
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