GOED Partners with South Dakota Companies to Create More Internships

Wednesday, July 20, 2011
PIERRE, S.D. – Thirteen South Dakota companies from across the state are receiving matching grants from the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) to create 28 internships through the Dakota Seeds program.

Dakota Seeds is designed to provide South Dakota companies with a pipeline of well-qualified full-time employees, and provide students with solid job opportunities in South Dakota.

Employers receiving grants include:

• PLE, Beresford, a design and engineering firm, will hire one intern and one graduate assistant.
• Sioux Corporation, Beresford, a manufacturer of industrial pressure washers, will hire one engineering intern for product development.
• NetCare Administrators, Brookings, a provider of administrative services to healthcare providers, will hire two interns for software development.
• UltiMed, DeSmet, a medical supply manufacturer will hire one engineering intern for product design.
• G3 Fire Plastics Fabrication, Hartford, a polypropylene tank fabricator, will hire one intern for product design.
• Rserving.com, Madison, a provider of online training for restaurant servers, will hire two interns for software testing.
• Amerikit Technology, North Sioux City, a technology service provider, will hire three interns to work on software imaging, and computer configuration and repair.
• Interbake Foods, North Sioux City, a baked goods manufacturer, will hire one engineering intern to help launch a new corporate sustainability program.
• Kisado Fitness, North Sioux City, an online fitness company, will hire one intern for software development.
• Black Hills Corporation, Rapid City, an energy company, is hiring four interns to work with business process development, social media, IT services, and data analysis.
• Dakota Power, Rapid City, a power system research and development company, will hire two interns and five graduate assistants to conduct research.
• Peppermint Energy, Sioux Falls, a renewable energy product retailer, will hire two marketing interns.
• Santel Communications, Woonsocket, a communication company, will hire one intern to work with their fiber optic lines.

The grants provide funding to assist with the internship wages. The grants cover up to one-half of a position’s wages, with a maximum of $2,000 for undergraduate or graduate student internships, $8,000 for master’s degree students, and $10,000 for PhD students who are working as research and development assistants.

This is the GOED’s second round of funding for the Dakota Seeds program this year. In late April, the GOED announced funding to create 80 internships at 30 different South Dakota companies.

Dakota Seeds grants are funded by The National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and approved quarterly by the Workforce Development Council.

For more information, visit www.dakotaseeds.com

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