Cheap labor just got cheaper in Massachusetts—if you’re a relatively small tech company, anyway.
Today, the state government is kicking off its new MassTech Intern Partnership, which promises to reimburse qualifying companies for half the cost of their interns’ salaries. The program also gives prospective interns a place to sign up for gigs with smaller tech companies.
The internship program, billed by the state as “a $1 million talent pipeline,” is part of a larger jobs package that Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law last year. Officials say they expect to have enough money to pay for at least 100 interns from now until next summer.
To qualify for the rebate, companies must have fewer than 500 employees and be in the tech sector (I’m not sure how that’s defined exactly, but it looks like they want to be pretty wide-ranging). The state will reimburse participating companies for half the cost of an intern’s wages, up to $10 per hour and 480 hours in a calendar year.
The internship program is aimed at students—participants have to be at least college sophomores, or have graduated within the past year (master’s degree candidates are also eligible). Military veterans also can qualify even if they’re not recent graduates, but they have to have some form of two-year or four-year degree.
The full rundown is available over on the MassTech site.
