City of Fort St. John to host intern through NDIT grant

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — City of Fort St. John staff were directed to submit an application to host an intern under the Local Government Internship Program during last week’s council meeting.

The program is through the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) for a grant of up to $35,000.

The city will also be required to provide sufficient financial and staffing resources to host the intern, as well as provide training and professional development opportunities.

Mayor Lilia Hansen asked who could apply for the program.

CAO Milo MacDonald said NDIT will usually go to recent graduates in programs that are applicable to local governments, such as planning or engineering graduates.

MacDonald said once they have around a dozen candidates, they convene with the representatives from the municipalities and go through a process where the candidates are interviewed. They will then find the best fit for each city.

“Applying gives us no guarantee that we get someone identified in the area that we’re interested in, but we have a fairly good track record of getting good people through this program,” MacDonald said.

“It’s a nice way of developing a relationship with somebody we may end up choosing to join our organization or, at the very least, joining local government.”

More information on the program can be found in the report below: