Meeting the challenges of our dwindling workforce can only be done by creating a path that introduces new students to (and exciting them about) the concrete pavement industry—concrete pavement promotion, engineering, construction, and contracting. Those are the program goals of the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA), ACPA Chapter/States, and ACPA Members who have launched “Interns for the Future Program”. It is a new internship program aimed at attracting individuals who may not have considered the concrete pavement industry as a career option, but who “have a passion” for the industry.
ACPA has partnered with the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation (IPRF), a 501(c)3 it operates “founded for education and scientific purposes”. Contributions made to the program from ACPA and APCA chapter/state affiliates will be matched dollar per dollar by the IPRF to offset expenses. To increase the potential for geographic distribution of candidates, the organization has created a selection panel to evaluate applications. Those selected can complete their internships at the national ACPA office or at one of the 20 regional chapter or state affiliates in the U.S. and Canada.
The program is seeking the most highly motivated students who have completed at least two years of study at an accredited University that has a strong reputation in the areas of concrete, materials, pavement engineering or construction management. The candidate will need to have an expressed interest in the field of concrete paving, as well as meet the GPA requirements.
The internships last for 12 weeks and will provide participants experiences with multiple aspects of concrete pavements, such as where technology meets construction, performing technical or other important projects, and career skills including resume preparation and presentation skills. The Program truly believes that a twelve-week internship will have a lasting impact on an intern, more so than awarding a monetary scholarship. An intern will learn and enrich his/her knowledge of concrete pavements—providing a springboard to a multitude of opportunities in the industry.
For all of the details on the program, please see the IPRF brochure PDF: http://www.acpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Internship-Program-Brochure.pdf.
For the Equipment World’s Better Roads article, please go to: http://www.equipmentworld.com/acpa-launches-interns-for-the-future-program-to-attract-individuals-to-the-concrete-pavement-industry/.
For more on IPRF, please go to: http://www.iprf.org.