The program is designed as a true partnership, one in which both the students and business partners receive tangible results. Businesses in the New World Island area of the province have access to a mechanism for investigating new ideas and when the students graduate, they will meet businesses' demand for highly trained employees. The program consists of high school credit courses that combine classroom instruction with practical field placements. The research internship program is open to Level III students at G. Shaw Collegiate. It is designed for students who are interested in careers in new and emerging sectors within resource-based industries.
Students often select the program to explore their own career possibilities.
Others see it as an opportunity to enrich their school curriculum or specialize in sciences. As a result of the internship placements, many students will move directly into the workforce while others pursue their interests further with post secondary studies. The program is open to employers whose business utilizes natural resources and could benefit from research and development activities. Students may be placed in a number of occupational training positions within a variety of new career fields that include aquaculture, secondary processing of natural resources, botany and various applications of information technology to resource-based industry. Once a work placement has been finalized, the youth internship coordinator and the employer, in consultation with the student, will develop an individualized research plan.