New Iowa Workforce Development Grant and Toolkit Support Employer-Led Summer Internships

Iowa employers looking to strengthen their talent pipelines through internships have new resources available this year, including grant funding and step-by-step technical assistance from Iowa Workforce Development (IWD).

Summer Youth Internship Program Grant Now Open

IWD has opened a new round of funding through its Summer Youth Internship Program, designed to help employers create meaningful summer work experiences for young Iowans in high-demand occupations. These internships help students explore career pathways while giving employers an opportunity to develop future talent.

Eligible applicants include employers, nonprofits, educational institutions, and community organizations. Priority will be given to programs that:

• Serve youth at risk of not graduating, from low-income households, or facing barriers to workforce participation
• Demonstrate the ability to recruit and co-enroll participants in their local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Youth Program
• Align with Iowa’s identified high-demand occupations

Grant funds may be used for participant wages, post-program compensation, training resources, program supplies, and administrative costs.

Applications are open now and must be submitted by Monday, February 16, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Interested applicants can also register for an informational webinar to be hosted by IWD on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.

Technical Assistance: 4 Steps to Internship for Employers

To support employers at every stage of internship development, IWD has also released the 4 Steps to Internship for Employers toolkit. This resource is designed to simplify the process of creating internships and includes:

• Practical guidance for building an internship program from start to finish
• Links to templates and tools, such as training plans
• Sample AI prompts to help employers draft internship job descriptions
• A companion presentation outlining the four-step framework

We have uploaded a portion of the toolkit to our website for download. Those interested in receiving the PowerPoint version of the toolkit or learning more about these resources should contact Kathy Leggett, Iowa Workforce Development, at kathy.leggett@iwd.iowa.gov.

Together, the Summer Youth Internship Program grant and the 4 Steps to Internship for Employers toolkit provide employers with both the resources and the roadmap needed to launch or expand internship opportunities that benefit students and strengthen Iowa’s workforce.

For more information on the IWD grant program, contact Nic Hockenberry, Director of Workforce Programming at nicolash@greaterdubuque.org or 563-557-9049.