Welcome to the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership Resource Page.  The Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership connects Virginia businesses that have work-based learning opportunities to Virginia students with Virginia’s higher ed institutions serving as the main catalyst.

Institutions of Higher Education: 

  • Professional Development Scholarships for practitioners and graduate students.  Apply for up to $2,500 to attend conferences, memberships that are related to work-based learning and internships.   

  • Grants to Institutions:  The program aims to expand high-quality, paid, and credit-bearing student internships and other work-based learning opportunities in collaboration with Virginia employers. The program comprises institutional grants and a statewide initiative to facilitate the readiness of students, employers, and institutions of higher education to participate in internships and other work-based learning opportunities. 

  • Transforming Federal Work-Study:  This toolkit meets institutions where they are in their journey to make at least some on-campus/federal work-study jobs more internship-like. The toolkit provides guidance and solutions as an institution makes decisions, creates policy, and overcomes regulatory barriers to transform Federal Work-Study positions.  PowerPoint serves as an abridged version of the toolkit. The PowerPoint can be saved/modified for institutions to use, obtain buy-in, and support the transformation of Federal Work-Study. 

  • Becoming a Career Champion:  Developed for faculty, staff and educators who will develop skills and practices to become a champion for students’ career success through effective mentoring, guidance and fostering a culture of career readiness within post-secondary education institutions. 

  • MentorVA:  Free Mentor, Supervisor, and Mentee training for employers, institutions, and students.   

 

Employers: 

  • Developing an Internship Program:  V-TOP has created a series of online, self-paced modules for employers that review the best practices for developing an internship program.  Free courses for employers developed to learn how to host a successful internship program.  Course’s content ranges from developing internship postings to helping interns develop their skills. 

Students: 

  • Free courses for students (suggested along with support of faculty or staff at your school) 

  • Student Internship Toolkit:  covers topics such as tools and strategies for seeking an internship, resume development, interviews, preparing for first few days, maximizing your experience, and ending the internship professionally. 

  • Graduate Student Professional Development Scholarships:  Eligible applicants are graduate students who intend to follow a career that involves connecting students, institutions of higher education, and the employer community to expand paid and credit-bearing internships and other work-based learning opportunities.