ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) announced it is launching a new initiative aimed at helping its members find and recruit well-qualified young professionals for internships and full-time positions. At the same time, this initiative will help students connect with members and facilitate offers for internships or jobs.

To bring this about, MCAA said it is implementing two key, related elements. First, the association is declaring 2015 to be The Year of the Intern, with the goal of doubling the number of Student Internship Grants — funded by the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) — awarded to MCAA members who hire students as interns. The association is also increasing the amount of the grants to $1,500 per student hired. And, for the first time, it will consider multiple grant requests from member companies.

Second, MCAA is in the final stages of creating a new website that will drive this initiative. It will include: a resume posting site that will allow students to post their profiles and resumes where MCAA member firms will be able to find and link up with students seeking internships and full-time professional positions; an industry information site featuring quick-read articles and videos highlighting the work, the companies, and the high-tech equipment that comprise the mechanical contracting industry; and a news site with the latest information about MCAA programs and activities and its student chapters. The site is expected to go live early in January.

The association also said that plans are in development for a big internship push at its MCAA 2015 convention in Maui, Hawaii, and for other ways to draw future professionals into the industry.

For more information, visit www.mcaa.org.

Publication date: 1/5/2015

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