The city of Pittsburgh is looking for interns, and unlike in years past, all prospective interns must apply through the Department of Personnel and Civil Service Commission.
“It was not a centralized process or program at all," said Todd Siegel, director of the city's Department of Personnel and Civil Service Commission. "Each individual department should they have had a need for interns whether they be paid or unpaid went about securing their interns on their own.”
If they were paid, the personnel department was involved to process the paperwork.
“But unpaid interns, we never would have even have known how many or who they would have been,” he said.
Siegel said they had tried to centralize the hiring process during previous administrations, but they had received pushback.
“We just want to centralize the application process so we know who's here," Siegel said, "and also to be able to get these students to come together as many times as we can during the course of their 10 weeks or their semesters so that they can not only have the opportunity to collaborate with each other and bond, but to share their experiences with one another."
The city hopes to get 100 interns in place this summer. They can create a profile and apply here: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/employmentcenter/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2femploymentcenter%2fApplicant%2fMyProfile.aspx
