St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP) & Workforce Readiness

Employers

Students

Volunteer
Alumni

Our Work

Career & Workforce Readiness

 

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis (BGCSTL) Career & Workforce Readiness Unit operates career and workforce development programs year-round for members ages 6-18 along with additional opportunities for our alumni ages 19-24. In addition, the Career & Workforce Readiness Unit offers and/or operate our programs throughout the St. Louis region. Our services include one-time soft skills workshops to a structured internship program, including credentialing, skill development, college preparatory, and dual enrollment opportunities. We welcome the opportunity to work with schools, nonprofit organizations, employers, and other entities that have career and workforce readiness goals.

St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP)

The St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP) merged with BGCSTL in September 2020.


• SLIP’s mission is to provide hope and opportunity for high school students in the St. Louis region through paid summer internships, intensive employability training, and year-round college and career planning, in partnership with businesses and community organizations, and to build the St. Louis community by developing motivated, well-trained, and talented future employees.
• With the growing complexity of the world and the increasing demands of the 21st century workforce, SLIP is committed to ensuring that every intern graduates from high school fully prepared for college and careers.
• SLIP’s ultimate goal is to create a pipeline of diverse, talented workers for the St. Louis region.

SLIP Featured on PBS “Pathways to Work”

Employers

“We are asking employers to invest in SLIP students because they are an extraordinary resource for our city that is usually untapped.”

Join Top Corporations and Hire a SLIP Intern!

Partnering with the St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP) by employing an intern for eight weeks during the summer is what a number of St. Louis employers do each year. You can join other metropolitan St. Louis companies in employing an intern in the summer who will be well trained, dress appropriately and ready to work. SLIP students are selected from a pool of highly motivated students who go through intensive ten week training in professional etiquette, basic computer skills and more, prior to intern placement.

SLIP Saturday Training at UMSL

By joining other leading companies and organizations that hire our interns, you will:

    • Benefit from having an intelligent and motivated contributor in your office.
    • Have access to a diverse pool of outstanding talent – over 98% of SLIP students graduate and attend a postsecondary institution.
    • Reach out into the community and make a significant contribution to the development of future corporate and community leaders.

 

Download SLIP Employer Overview

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VIEW EMPLOYER REFLECTIONS

Students – Apply Now!

The application window for the 2025 St. Louis Internship Program is OPEN NOW.  Register for a SLIP account and submit your application here.  The deadline to apply is December 1, 2024.  For information please call (314) 371-7547. You may also email us with questions at slip@bgcstl.org.

Qualifications:

  • Must attend a partner high school or be a BGCSTL member
  • High School Sophomore or Junior
  • Have a C or higher cumulative grade point average
  • Have good attendance and good citizenship; and
  • Be committed to participating in SLIP activities

The application must be submitted via slipcentral.org. 

Our Impact

Since 1992, 98% of SLIP interns have successfully acquired work readiness skills, graduated high school, and pursued postsecondary education and professional careers.

SLIP internships are much more than just summer jobs. Eight-week paid summer internships are preceded by a guided application process and rigorous work readiness training and followed by year-round college access activities. An intensive guided application process develops skills needed for college and job applications. In ten required Saturday training sessions prior to the internships, students set personal career goals and develop job seeking, work readiness, and practical office skills. Year-round college prep and career planning activities help interns access post-secondary education. Ongoing SLIP networks of peers and professionals provide support, role models, and networks for future jobs. SLIP assists the St. Louis region by helping to develop and cultivate a diverse talent pipeline which impacts:

Economic Development

• Through SLIP, hundreds of thousands of dollars from interns’ wages is injected into our community

Workforce Development

    • Through SLIP, the critical gap between our talented young people and the needs of our region’s work force is bridged
    • A follow-up with our graduates shows that a majority are employed, continuing their education or serving in our nation’s armed services

 

Professional & Personal Development

• Through SLIP, internships, professional networks and college access/persistence activities help students realize their potential and options for the future and assist them in reaching their personal, educational, and professional goals

Year-Round Program

We want to make sure that every student we touch understands the value of education, graduates high school, pursues post-secondary education/training, and ultimately secures a career and sows a seed back into the St. Louis community.

Year-Round Program Model

    • Intensive application process including written application and oral interview with program staff
    • Ten mandatory Saturday Training & Development Sessions that teaches students employability skills in addition to orientation and placement workshops
    • Basic work readiness skills such as dress for success, professional etiquette and interpersonal communication provide insight into professional work culture
    • Job seeking skills such as resume writing and interviewing skills help students see that acquiring professional positions can be possible
    • Practical work skills such as computer and office equipment operation give students tools they need to be effective in an office setting
    • Paid, eight-week internship in professional settings
    • Post-secondary planning activities including ACT Prep and field experiences to universities, tuition assistance, scholarship offerings, and scholarship notifications
    • Career field experiences to local businesses and leadership programs
    • Specialized career development programs that provides technical and practical skills (i.e. SLIP Mock Trial Institute, Healthcare Internship Component, etc.)

Alumni

We want to make sure that every student we touch understands the value of education, graduates high school, pursues post-secondary education/training, and ultimately secures a career and sows a seed back into the St. Louis community. We invite all of our alumni to remain in contact with us. We welcome your update and would like to know how you would like to engage with SLIP.

VIEW SUCCESS STORIES

SUBMIT ALUMNI UPDATE

Volunteer

There are many ways to make a difference at the St. Louis Internship Program. Bringing people together for the betterment of communities is what we do. The St. Louis Internship Program offers a chance to see your investment at work and an opportunity to join in with a number of entities and individuals to open a world of opportunity. If you wish to assist staff and students by sharing your time, please contact the St. Louis Internship Program at (314) 371-SLIP. We will be happy to work with you in sharing your skills and talents with our young people.

Adult Volunteer Application

9200 West Florissant Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63136
(314) 371-7547
shanise@bgcstl.org

SLIP Celebrates 30 years! Read more, here.

Being a SLIP participant gives you a membership to BGCSTL

Get more information about the application process, here.

 

DONATE TO SLIP

Hire or Sponsor an Intern

Through on-the-job experience, professional support and work-readiness training, our students change the trajectory of their lives. As a result, I am asking you to invest in the lives of the youth that we serve by employing an intern for eight weeks during the summer. Join other employers and make a commitment to the St. Louis community by investing in the lives of SLIP students, which in turn, carries on to our schools and families.

Please contact Shanise Johnson at 314.371.7547 or by email to shanise@bgcstl.org to join other leading companies and organizations in making an investment in our future corporate and community leaders.