Bridgenext, formerly Emtec, relocated its global headquarters to Jacksonville in 2019 seeing the potential to grow their business and draw top talent to the region where an office was already established with clients such as Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) , FSCJ and the City of Jacksonville. The company’s ethos of “clients for life” underscores its commitment to delivering exemplary performance and fostering trust for long-time partnerships.
An integral part of Bridgenext’s hiring growth strategy involves the internship program, which is viewed as developing technical talent in Jacksonville and beyond with high schoolers and college students. Mike Marino, Bridgenext’s Director of Operations, says the initial goal was to hire three to five interns during the summer to give back to the community. It quickly became so much more.
Each summer, Bridgenext hires approximately 100 interns to lead the cleaning and re-imaging of thousands of laptops for DCPS. In the program’s first year, Bridgenext and DCPS hosted separate cohorts of interns, but the next year brought a cohort growth that necessitated a merger of their programs. Jim Culbert, Chief Information Officer for DCPS, says the program is a huge task that helps teachers returning to the classroom for day one of the school year.
Student referrals by academy directors or teachers who have directly observed students exhibiting qualities of regular attendance, turning in work, and getting along with others serves as a basis for recruitment for the Summer Project each year beginning in March. After helping students create a resume, a structured interview process commences, and the next cohort of interns is selected. Culbert remarked on the diversity of the program, emphasizing that DCPS is seeing an increase in the number of girls in programs like this and Springfield Middle School’s coding academy.
In May, students are onboarded and scheduled for an orientation/training day followed by a project kickoff meeting for all interns. Topics covered include the support available to students, the benefits they gain (e.g., a paycheck, practical experience, leadership skills), and the expectations and plan outlined to ensure success.
Culbert says it has been rewarding to see students who sat in the Riverside High School auditorium for orientation grow over the years through the program. Approximately 12-14 former interns are full-time permanent employees with the DCPS School Board. Upon their high school graduation, an intern with two years of experience in the program can be brought on and promoted to the Tech I position for a year before an additional promotion to a Tech II at DCPS. Culbert says this award-winning program is one of the biggest highlights of his career at DCPS.
The structure behind the projects allows students to learn skills that will serve them in any industry. One former intern credits her five years of experience with Bridgenext in developing leadership skills that landed her dream job in psychology. Another former intern began the program with the goal of obtaining a history degree and switched his pathway, gaining a permanent position on the Bridgenext JEA team. He is one of five former interns now employed full-time on this team at JEA. Bridgenext has also hired interns onto their full-time team. Employees and interns alike find that work is something they look forward to going to each day thanks to this program.
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