Empowering Growth: Flagstaff’s Incentive Programs for Business Expansion, Revitalization, and Job Creation
What started as a small two-year pilot program in 2019 has officially hit a big milestone. Career Ready Tempe just wrapped its sixth year with a graduating class of 20 students, continuing to grow its impact on local students and businesses alike.
The idea behind Career Ready Tempe is simple: connect local high school students with real-world work experience and give Tempe businesses a chance to grow their future talent pipeline. Students receive paid internships in high-demand fields, plus training and mentorship, while businesses get motivated interns ready to take on meaningful projects. A win for everyone.
Career Ready Tempe is a partnership between the City of Tempe, the City’s Economic Development Department, and the Tempe Chamber Foundation. It is aligned with industry needs and with Achieve65Tempe, the City’s initiative to ensure that 65% of Tempe’s adult population earns a post-secondary credential, from a certificate to an advanced degree, by 2030.
Student Participation
The program is open to Tempe residents and students who are current high school sophomores and juniors. Priority is given to students whose household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Students must apply, interview, and if selected, are matched with local businesses for 120 hours of paid internship experience over six weeks in June and July.
In addition to on-the-job experience, students receive in-person training from Arizona@Work and complete six online soft skills training courses through Arizona State University’s Edge program in customer service, leadership, and personal development. Students are awarded certificates for completed modules to add to their resumes and are matched with an advisor who provides guidance in navigating their career and educational goals.
Business Participation
Businesses that join the program develop meaningful projects aligned with in-demand industries, such as advanced manufacturing, advanced business services, and healthcare and bioscience. Each business designates a supervisor to mentor the student, track progress, and orient them to the workplace.
To help encourage participation, the program compensates interns at $15 per hour, removing the financial barrier for businesses while still ensuring students are paid for their work. Notable past host sites include Vestar, Rio Salado College, NMG Aerospace, State Farm, Tempe Tourism, and Wilson Electric.
Businesses that participate not only help fill the opportunity and skills gap, but they also support local youth, increase visibility in the community, and give their professional staff more time to focus on other projects. Since the program launched, several graduates have been hired by their internship hosts, giving businesses the opportunity to retain talent needed to grow their operations and strengthen the local workforce.
Career Ready Tempe has proven that investing in a community’s youth strengthens the local economy while helping build the workforce of tomorrow. Applications for businesses and students to join the Summer 2026 program open in January.