Dayton Business Journal
Dayton region must focus internships, leaders say
By Tristan Navera 

The number of internships in the Dayton region has increased 7.1 percent in the past year, but that falls below the national average. 

Internships are key to the development of Dayton’s workforce. That’s the word from local business leaders and higher education officials during a Friday business briefing. 

During the meeting — held at University of Dayton’s River Campus — local officials praised the results of the 20 by 20 challenge, a long-term mission to have 20,000 internship positions in the Dayton area by 2020. Still, officials said more work was needed to attract young talent to the area. 

The Southwest Ohio Council of Higher Education (SOCHE) said the number of internships in the Dayton region has increased 7.1 percent in the past year, from 11,066 to 11,846, and is on track to top 20,000 in 2020. However, SOCHE Executive Director Sean Creighton said the national average was 8.5 percent, and that the goal should be to top that. 

“It’s important for us to not only beat that number, but to blow it away,” Creighton said, “We don’t want to be below the national average. We want to be a community that leads as opposed to barely keeping up.” 

Creighton said internships are one of the strongest reasons people stay in Dayton. Up to 40 percent of college graduates are hired on after a paid internship, and hired interns have a five-year retention rate that is 25 percent higher compared to outside hires. 

Dan Curran, president of the University of Dayton, said internships are the best means to keep students in the Dayton region, saying the opportunity to intern helps them orient themselves to the working world and be prepared to understand the demands of a full-time job in their career… 

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