CERT Internship Program

The CERT Tribal Internship Program is part of the education and training opportunities provided to accelerate the development of Native American technical professionals available to serve in the work force and thus expand the pool of these professionals. Tribes are severely impacted by the inadequate number of Indian professionals available to serve and facilitate Tribal participation and support the energy future of Tribes, and subsequently the energy future of the nation. The Indian youth of today will inherit the responsibility of prudently managing Tribal resources and will play a critical role in shaping the future. Unless deliberate measures are taken to prepare these students for the future, they will not be adequately equipped to assume these roles and many will be lost to other fields of work unrelated to their major fields of study.

The CERT Internship Program provides students with hands-on work experience in their field of study. The Internship Program has a twofold purpose: to provide opportunities for professional enhancement and to increase the pool of Indian professionals available to meet the needs of Tribal government and Tribal communities in general. In serving this purpose, it has a number of specific aspects that distinguish it from other internship programs. One is that it takes steps necessary to overcome the economic and logistical barriers associated with matching potential interns with internships in urban or distant rural locations. The other is that Tribal value systems provide the underlying foundation of the program and this is reinforced with special activities throughout the year. These greatly expand the scope of the overall effort and place a significant demand on the program management from both a time and budgeting perspective.

The Internship Program is a bridge enabling American Indian undergraduate and graduate students to transition into the technical and professional workforce. In crossing this bridge Indian students have access to intensive professional training, mentorship and practical experience in a wide range of scientific, technical and policy areas. The CERT program is distinguished by its focus on energy resource development, environmental protection and natural resource development with a particular emphasis on the interplay between science, technology, policy and Tribal governance, economic development and cultural integrity. CERT is dedicated to facilitating the development of a cadre of trained and experienced scientists, engineers and technicians to diversify the workforce corps available to the federal government, private sector and Native American Tribes.

In summary, the objectives of the CERT Tribal Internship Program are to:

For more information, contact:
Clint LeBeau
Program Assistant
Council of Energy Resource Tribes
695 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 10
Denver, CO  80246
P (303) 282-7576 ext. 12
F (303) 282-7584
clebeau@certredearth.com

Tribal unemployment is high, from as much as 85-90% to a low of 15%. Over half of the Indian families living in their homelands have income under than the official poverty line, some by as much as 25%.