Clean Energy Internship Program for Employers

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The Challenge: Prepare the Next Generation of Clean Energy Workers

Massachusetts' growing clean energy industries need a robust, diverse, and equitable pipeline of talent to keep up with their work on decarbonization strategies and climate solutions. 

About

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program facilitates the placement of college students and recent graduates into paid internships with verified clean energy companies across Massachusetts by providing stipends for interns during fall, spring and summer sessions. Since its launch in 2011, the program has allocated over $24 million to place more than 5,000 interns at over 600 unique companies, and 900 interns have received full or part-time jobs at their host companies as a result of their internships. 

Employers who'd like to participate in the Clean Energy Internship Program can start by creating an account and profile on our Workforce Portal. 

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Status
Open
Award Potential
$4,320/intern for Fall or Spring session; $8,640/intern for Summer session
Application Deadline
Spring 2023 Session: February 1, 2023
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Questions? Contact

Program Schedule


The Clean Energy Internship Program offers three sessions per year:

  • Spring (January-May)
  • Summer(May-August)
  • Fall (September-December)

Fall 2022 session is now closed. Enrollment for the Spring 2023 session will begin mid-November.

Funding is allocated on a first-come/first-served basis until it runs out, or until the deadline for employers to submit signed offer letters to MassCEC has passed.

Spring 2023 Internship Session
Process Step Timing

Open enrollment and intern selection begin

November 9, 2022

Spring 2023 session start date

January 1, 2023

Deadline for employers to submit signed offer letters to MassCEC 

February 1, 2023

Spring 2023 session end date

May 14, 2023

Deadline for Spring 2023 session reimbursement packages

June 15, 2023

Who's Eligible

To participate in the program, employers must be clean energy or water innovation companies registered to do businesses in Massachusetts, with at least one office located in the Commonwealth.

For the purposes of this program, MassCEC defines a clean energy employer as “an employer engaged in whole or in part in goods and services, or advanced and applied technologies that significantly reduce or eliminate the use of energy from non-renewable sources, including, but not limited to: energy efficiency; demand response; energy conservation and those technologies powered in whole or in part by the sun, wind, water, geothermal energy, including networked geothermal and deep geothermal energy, hydrogen produced by non-fossil fuel sources and methods, alcohol, fuel cells, fusion energy or any other renewable, non-depletable or recyclable fuel."

Download Program Summary

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Application Process

  1. Create an employer account and fill out the company submission. Await approval of your account from MassCEC. All approved employers are eligible to participate in the program for a full year from the date of their application submission.
  2. Once your company has been approved for the program, you can submit new internship postings, which will be published once approved by MassCEC.
  3. Access the student dashboard to review candidates. If you have external candidates, they can submit intern applications here. Every candidate must have a profile on the internship portal to participate in the program.
  4. Contact candidates from the student dashboard in whom you are interested and conduct an in-person or phone interviews.  
  5. Click on “eligibility check” for the student(s) you'd like to hire and notify internships@masscec.com that you submitted an eligibility check for a student.
  6. Once an eligibility check is processed, you will receive an automated email letting you know that the intern has been approved and prompting you to submit a signed offer letter.
  7. Submit a co-signed offer letter to internships@masscec.com to receive funding. After funding has been reserved for the intern, you will receive an email confirmation.

Reimbursement

  • Sign and return your award letter.

  • After completion of the internship, submit your Reimbursement Package to internships@masscec.com. You must submit your fully completed reimbursement package before the session deadline of June 15, 2023. 

Application Materials

Create a Workforce Portal Account

Clean Energy Internship Leads to Full Time Hire

A former Intern, now full-time employee, and the co-founder of the company that hired him both share their advice to students and employers on how to get the most out of the Clean Energy Internship Program. 

FAQs

What are the eligibility requirements for organizations to participate in the program?
  • Be an eligible clean energy employer. For the purposes of this program, MassCEC defines a clean energy employer as “an employer engaged in whole or in part in goods and services, or advanced and applied technologies that significantly reduce or eliminate the use of energy from non-renewable sources, including, but not limited to: energy efficiency; demand response; energy conservation and those technologies powered in whole or in part by the sun, wind, water, biomass, alcohol, wood, fuel cells, any renewable, non-depletable, or recyclable fuel.” MassCEC in its sole discretion makes the determination of whether an employer is a clean energy employer. 
  • Be registered to do business in Massachusetts. If you are unsure if your business is registered to do business in Massachusetts, please consult the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Corporate Database at the Commonwealth’s Corporations Division. 
  • Provide a meaningful internship (as defined in the General Terms and Conditions). 
  • Provide adequate proof that your organization is able to pay your intern(s) and all associated costs associated with employment.  
  • Successfully demonstrate that your organization has a physical presence in Massachusetts. 
  • Not be an academic or government entity.  
  • Be in good standing with MassCEC. The Host Employer must have submitted all paperwork relating to any prior internship completed, including the mandatory final survey, which must have been received and approved by MassCEC. 
How much may I pay my intern?

MassCEC will reimburse a Host Employer up to the cap of $4,320/intern in the fall or spring sessions and $8,640/intern in the summer session. The minimum wage for this program is $15/hr; MassCEC will reimburse up to $18/hr. 

How many interns may an organization employ?

Host Employers are allowed to select up to three interns if one of the three interns attends a community college. Two interns are permitted if neither attends a community college. Each intern must be approved individually. Funding for one intern does not entitle an employer to funding for a second or third. 

May I hire a relative?

The Intern(s) cannot be the spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, niece, nephew, or spouse of a child, grandchild, sibling, niece, or nephew of the president, CEO, or other senior executive member of the Host Employer, or of any other employee of Host Employer who may have hiring authority on behalf of the Host Employer. 

May we hire an intern from a previous session and be eligible for MassCEC reimbursement?

MassCEC will only provide reimbursement if the intern is hired in a different calendar year, and not a subsequent session. For example, an employer may take on the same individual once per year in the same session (i.e., Summer 2020 and Summer 2021) OR twice per year in nonconsecutive sessions (i.e., Spring 2021 and Fall 2021). Additionally, an individual will not be eligible to participate at the same Host Employer if they continue to work or volunteer for you in between sessions in an amount greater than five hours/week on average. 

Current or very recent employees are not eligible to participate with you as an intern under this program unless they have been working for the Host Employer less than six weeks leading up to the session start date. 

I’ve selected my student intern(s). Why do you need to conduct an eligibility check? I thought since they are in the database you had already been in touch with them.

MassCEC does not provide an eligibility check on interns before the check is specifically requested by a potential employer due to the large number of student applications we receive every session.

The cleantech industry is really competitive. I’d like to have my intern sign a non-compete agreement. Is there a policy regarding non-compete agreements?

Host Employers are not permitted to require or request that an intern sign a non-compete agreement. Host Employers are permitted to use non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement to protect any sensitive information. 

My intern left mid-internship. May I hire someone else?

If a hired intern terminates employment during the internship, the Host Employer has until three weeks after the start date referenced in the initial offer letter to hire a new intern. After the three-week window has passed, the Host Employer’s funding will be awarded to a company on the waitlist. New interns must be approved by MassCEC. 

Can governmental entities or academic institutions apply to the Internship Program?

Government and academic institutions are not eligible to receive funding under this program. However, they may use the database to identify potential interns. Contact internships@masscec.com for details. 

Additional Resources for Employers

 

Vocational Internship Program

Our Vocational Internship Program (VIP) is a workforce development initiative that enhances the talent pipeline for Massachusetts clean energy companies and places skilled labor from vocational high schools in paid clean energy internships during the academic year. MassCEC reimburses employers for the wages paid to the intern.

Jobs Board

Looking for full- or part-time employees with a passion for the clean energy sector? You’ve come to the right place! Post your non-internship positions with us and attract skilled candidates to join your team.

Resume Board

Find your next star employee! Registered employers can view our resume database and reach out directly to qualified candidates.