Accenture and KIPP Team to Provide More Than 300 Students with Internships at Nearly 175 Companies in Nine Cities

Accenture Press Release:

July 07, 2014

Accenture and KIPP Team to Provide More Than 300 Students with Internships at Nearly 175 Companies in Nine Cities

Goal to begin job training early to address growing skills gap in marketplace

WASHINGTON, D.C.; July 7, 2014 – Accenture announced today that it is collaborating with the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) network of public charter schools to sponsor more than 300 internships this summer for KIPP high school students and alumni at nearly 175 companies and nonprofit organizations across the United States.  Internships will be available to students in nine KIPP regions: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, San Antonio, the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, D.C.

Students are placed at internships matching their career goals and interests, encompassing fields from computer science and business administration to zoo conservation and hospital guest relations. Students will be placed at companies like APCO Worldwide and Goodwin Procter, LLC in DC, Recipe for Success Foundation and Nations Reliable Lending, LLC in Houston, and Asurion and the San Jose Earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As part of its commitment, Accenture is providing nearly 70 summer internship opportunities for KIPP students.

This effort is part of an ongoing college and career readiness initiative between Accenture and KIPP, which includes Future Focus, an innovative program composed of skills training, mentoring and internship and job shadowing opportunities for students across the KIPP network. Accenture supports KIPP and its network of more than 140 high-performing college preparatory public charter schools, as part of its Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative, which aims to equip 700,000 people worldwide by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

A recent Accenture college graduate employment survey found that internships remain a good opportunity for grads to advance to a paying job: Of the 69 percent of 2012/2013 grads who participated in an internship while still in school, more than one-third (36 percent) said the internship led to a job.

“It is vitally important students develop career skills beginning in high school,” said Stu Solomon, Accenture Managing Director Metropolitan Washington DC and KIPP DC board member. “For employers, the gap between the skills job applicants have and the skills required is wide.  Providing career skills beginning in high school, especially in STEM related fields, is positive for both the students and their future employers.”

KIPP is a national network of 141 public charter schools focused on preparing students from underserved backgrounds for college. Nationally, 44 percent of students who finished 8th grade at KIPP 10 or more years ago have graduated from a four-year college.  This is significantly above the national average for all students (29 percent) and five times the rate for students from the lowest economic quartile (8 percent).

“KIPP’s north star is helping our students succeed in college and the world beyond. Through the internship initiative, Accenture is helping us realize that goal for hundreds of our KIPPsters,” said Richard Barth, CEO of the KIPP Foundation. “Internships can be a major stepping stone to college and career success, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Accenture in this effort.”

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 293,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. Through its Skills to Succeed corporate citizenship initiative, Accenture is committed to equipping 700,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About KIPP 
KIPP – the Knowledge Is Power Program – is a national network of open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. KIPP was founded in Houston in 1994, and has grown to 141 schools serving more than 50,000 students in 20 states and Washington, D.C. Ninety-five percent of students enrolled in KIPP schools are African American or Hispanic/Latino, and more than 85 percent qualify for the federal free and reduced price meals program. To date, more than 80 percent of students who have graduated from KIPP middle schools have matriculated to college. To learn more, visit www.kipp.org.
 

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