State of Illinois Expands Intern to Hire Program to Attract Civil Engineers

For Release

Program aims to address industrywide engineering workforce shortage and build up State workforce

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) is expanding its successful Intern to Hire Program partnering with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to include engineering roles. This initiative provides a clear pathway for aspiring civil engineers to launch and sustain long-term public service careers in the State of Illinois.

This expanded program comes amid a nationwide shortage of engineering professionals and a historic period of unprecedented infrastructure investment in Illinois. The program offers structured, paid internships leading to full-time State employment, providing hands-on experience and professional development to meet critical workforce needs.

“We are investing in the future of the State’s workforce, with a focus on engineers,” said Raven A. DeVaughn, Director of CMS. “This program is not only creating career opportunities for emerging professionals, but also helping us reform and modernize how we recruit and retain top talent. We’re thrilled to partner with IDOT to bring this vision to life.”

“We’re excited for young people to take advantage of this innovative program to help them move from college internship to full-time employment at IDOT, while being part of implementing an historic construction program, the largest in state history,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi. “This will make it possible for interns we’ve trained and who have become part of our team to stay and build their career at IDOT.”

In the expanded program, participants will join the ranks of 1,000 civil engineers at IDOT, making transformational contributions to infrastructure in Illinois, the transportation hub of the United States, as well as make an impact in their communities and hometowns.

Passed in 2019, Governor JB Pritzker’s historic, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program is investing a total of $33.2 billion over six years into the state’s aging transportation system. Along with the largest infrastructure program adopted on the federal level in 2021, IDOT is completing an unprecedented number of projects statewide — and civil engineers are essential to making those projects a reality.

According to the American Council of Engineering Companies, 82,000 engineers and other professionals are needed across the transportation industry and beyond to help build and maintain the country’s infrastructure.

“We have been very successful with previous engineering co-op programs at IDOT. The new Intern to Hire Program takes this idea to the next level,” said Lora Rensing, IDOT’s chief engineer and director of the Office of Highways Project Implementation. “We look forward to mentoring talented engineering students and giving them a path to become the future generation of transportation professionals and leaders at IDOT.”

The Intern to Hire Program offers flexible, paid internships with real-world experience designed to transition interns to full-time roles upon graduation. Interns also earn unbroken service time toward State employee benefits, gaining a valuable start to a stable career.

The expanded program has several civil engineering openings across Illinois, with plans to expand and include additional positions in the future.

To qualify, students must have an anticipated graduation date with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)-accredited university or college and complete an internship of at least six months but no more than 60 months at IDOT. Successful candidates will transition from civil engineer intern to civil engineer trainee.

Candidates interested in applying can visit: https://careers.illinois.gov/carsrvcs/intern-to-hire.html.

For more information on all State of Illinois employment opportunities, visit: https://work.illinois.gov/.