Welcome to year three of The Launchpad! Students who intern through this program will learn that Mercer County can be their launchpad, not their limitation.
Go beyond the average summer gig, with paid opportunities that provide genuine work experience in a supportive environment. Designed for meaningful growth, The Launchpad is the place to invest in your future. Read about the program, explore participating employers when they become available, and apply today to be part of our exciting third year!
Who Can Apply?
Mercer County students entering their junior and senior years of high school.
What if your future didn’t begin somewhere else? What if it began right here?
The Launchpad is Mercer County’s paid summer internship program designed to give students real-world experience — and give employers a hand in shaping the workforce of tomorrow.
HOW does it work?
For Employers
This is more than seasonal help. It’s an investment.
The Launchpad connects you with motivated junior and senior students who are ready to learn, contribute, and explore your industry. You provide meaningful, paid, hands-on experience and mentorship. In return, you gain fresh perspective, emerging talent, and the opportunity to influence the skills and confidence of the future professionals of Mercer County’s workforce.
The students who walk through your doors this summer may one day lead local businesses, build companies of their own, or carry the work ethic they learned from you into the wider world of our community and beyond.
When you participate in The Launchpad, you’re not just filling a role — you’re helping a young person build a foundation that can take them anywhere.
For Students
Your future doesn’t start after graduation. It starts now.
The Launchpad internships are paid, real-world opportunities to step inside industries you’re curious about and see what the work is really like. In addition to a paycheck, you’ll gain experience, mentorship, and skills that go far beyond the typical summer job.
Whether you plan to attend college, pursue vocational or technical training, or enter the workforce after high school, what you build here becomes momentum for wherever you’re headed next.
Employer positions and application details are yet to come. For now, consider this your invitation to start thinking bigger.
Because opportunity doesn’t require leaving home.
It just requires a strong start.
Start here. Go anywhere.
click the above image to email your questions about The Launchpad to our Program Director.