Skilled Trades Alliance partners with NGU

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This story first appeared in the Aug. 9 print edition of GSA Business Report.

The Skilled Trades Alliance, a startup nonprofit organization in Greenville, has partnered with North Greenville University to provide internship opportunities to NGU’s marketing, management and digital art/communications undergraduate students. The partnership will begin in the fall semester.

The College of Business and Entrepreneurship Associate Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs Rick Martinez says the college recognizes how critical it is for young professionals to expand their education, network and skills through experience in real-life organizations.

“We are thrilled to build this partnership with the Skilled Trade Alliance, and we look forward to ensuring that the benefits to our students and to the STA are mutual, long-lasting, and value-creating,” Martinez said in a news release.

The internship program is designed to allow for developing individual independent thinking and problem-solving, innovation and collaboration, and extrapolation of knowledge, skills and abilities related to a professional environment.

NGU College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean Web Drake said in the news release that the Skilled Trades Alliance is providing a great service for South Carolina.

“NGU is proud to partner with them in their efforts,” Drake said in the release. “Our students will get valuable experience doing worthwhile work with a mission-driven organization.”

After completing the internship program, the student interns will have opportunities to develop and produce tangible outcomes to strengthen their career readiness level, the release said.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with North Greenville University students for this important mission. I believe the internship program experience will be very valuable for the students’ professional ambitions, as well as provide much-needed support to the Skilled Trades Alliances’ long-term goals and objectives,” said alliance chair Mary-Allyson Chauvin.

The Skilled Trades Alliance’s mission is to provide a roadmap to intentionally engage, educate, equip and empower individuals to create a workforce pipeline in the building construction skilled trades industry.