600 get teen internships

THEY’RE LEARNING lessons about life on the job.

Six hundred city high school students landed internships with 189 different employers through a new workforce development program, the city’s education head said Thursday.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña made the announcement at a Queens press conference marking the first year of the city’s Career and Technical Education Industry Scholars Program.

And she said those numbers show the effort is off to a strong start.

“We’re preparing students for their future beyond high school,” Fariña said. “Internships and industry partnerships connect our students with resources and experiences that will serve them well.”

The Industry Scholars Program gives students jobs in finance, media, transportation, technology and hospitality, among other fields.

Students who seek internships must apply and be recommended by teachers. Slots are open to any high school kid, and internships run in two sessions during the spring and summer. Full-time and part-time gigs are available.

Participating employers include the MTA, Birch Coffee, Nobu 57, Next Step Pictures, Karma Media and the city’s Division of School Facilities, where Farina made Thursday’s announcement.

Students make $11 per hour and the program costs the city $1.5 million to operate each year.

Bronx Academy Design and Construction academy senior Gavin Almonte, 17, said his summer internship with the Division of School Facilities taught him useful lessons about life in the workforce.

“It’s a lot of on-the-job training,” said Almonte, whose 25-hour-per-week internship ends Aug. 18. “We’ll be working on blueprints and schematics, or magnetic starters and motors.”

Almonte, who wants to pursue a career as an electrician after graduation, said the goal is to become comfortable with equipment and concepts he’ll encounter on the job.

“There’s a lot of application for the things we’re learning,” he said.

The Education Department officials say they want to expand the undertaking to 3,000 interns by 2019.

Similar efforts by the Education Department and other city agencies link thousands of city students with internships each year.