In 2000, AWWA contracted with the authors to conduct a
survey to determine whether utility managers and college
professors would be interested in an AWWA-sponsored,
web-based forum to encourage student internships at utilities.
More than 2,000 surveys were distributed to more than 100 academic
programs and more than 100 utilities. The response rate was
more than 19% for utilities and between 11 and 33% for the
academic programs.
The survey found that there is overwhelming support (more
than 90% of surveys received) for a web-based forum. Respondents
said that it is often hard to find qualified students for utility
internships because of a lack of contacts, the distance between
colleges and utilities, and a lack of a centralized repository for such
information. The study also gathered benchmark data about existing
student internships, and the respondents provided AWWA with
suggestions for improving student experiences in the water utility
industry. The authors concluded that AWWA needs to take the
next step in establishing the web-based internship forum as part of
a larger effort to attract a younger generation to pursue careers at
water utilities and increase their involvement with AWWA. Includes tables.
| Edition : | Vol. 95 - No. 8 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 640 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 08/01/2003 |
