Ohio Export Internship Program expands Ohio companies export potential!
Ohio Export Internship Program expands Ohio companies export potential!

Think Exporting Is a Great Idea but Don’t Know How or Have The Time?

Consider participating in the Ohio Export Internship Program!

On Thursday, August 9th, the seventh annual class of the Ohio Export Internship Program (OEIP) graduated in a ceremony held at the Ohio State House atrium.

The grant funded program developed by the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA) in partnership with The Ohio State University, Cleveland State University and Youngstown State University was designed for companies that have unrealized export potential. Students interview for acceptance into the program, participate in spring semester coursework focused on export training and are then placed into Ohio companies for a summer internship.

Participating in the OEIP program is a win-win for our Ohio companies and college students! The three aforementioned host universities are training students from throughout Ohio. Dennison, Ohio University and Columbus State Community College are just a few of the participating schools sending qualified students. The host companies are identified through the Ohio SBDC Export Assistant Network Directors. The participating companies hire an export intern for the summer paying $15/hour for a 12 week period. At conclusion of internship, the companies are reimbursed 50% of the paid wages up to $3,600. Thus, for $7.50/hour, a company can access trained students to assist them with building export readiness, market specific research and analysis or streamlining current export processes and more!

The company recruitment process has opened for summer 2019!  We are seeking companies that could benefit from having a trained intern to assist them with export focused work. Examples include identifying new global markets, expanding existing international markets, preparing for trade shows or developing an export compliance manual. The export focused work that our OEIP students have accomplished is diverse.

Interested? Please click here for the 2019 OEIP Flyer for how to apply. You are invited to reach out to Roberta Winch at the Ohio SBDC at Columbus State for further information on the Ohio Export Internship Program. You may also reference the Ohio Development Services Agency website for additional program details.

We look forward to having you participate and grow your exports!

Joyce Steffan Director, Office of Global Business & CIBER at OSU Esther Armbrust OEIP 2018 graduate, CSCC student Roberta Winch Director, Ohio SBDC, CSCC Export Assistance Network