The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to expand a pilot program that hires college students to work on information technology projects for the county.
Supervisor Hilda Solis championed the program, which was set up in partnership with Cal State Los Angeles.
"On-the-job experience is a vital resume builder that college students are eager to earn,'' Solis said. "As technology develops, we need bright minds to help us figure out innovative techniques to enhance the county's IT systems.
"By expanding this program, our IT department can learn from the next generation while providing these youth with the real life experience they need to succeed in their careers and beyond."
Cal State Los Angeles President Bill Covino cited a study lauding the school's work in training students for good-paying jobs.
"Cal State LA is ranked number one in the nation for upward mobility of our students," Covino said. "A comprehensive national research study by the Equality of Opportunity Project was recently published in The New York Times and found that no other university in the nation does a better job of transforming low-income students into high-income earners."
Students get paid and get school credit for their work on projects like developing an automated system to retrieve information from county vehicles or working with voice technology to deliver county information via digital "smartboards" at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.
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Once they graduate, students can apply for one of the county's two-year paid internships or fellowship programs.
The motion extends the program to other local colleges and universities.
