Tyco & Lagrant Foundation Launch Internship For Minorities In Communications.

Tyco International, Ltd. and The Lagrant Foundation (TLF) have established a three-year, $300,000 partnership to develop an internship program to cultivate high-potential students of color for careers in advertising, marketing and public relations.

“A diverse workforce offers a competitive business advantage, especially for global companies like Tyco that must effectively manage diversity in products, businesses, customers, and markets to achieve business results,” said Charles Young, Tyco’s senior vice president of Marketing and Communications. “One of Tyco’s great strengths is the diversity of its workforce, and this partnership with a respected organization like TLF will further accelerate our employee diversity in the areas of advertising, marketing and public relations.”

TLF Founder and President Kim L. Hunter said: “This pioneering partnership is a strategic alliance between two organizations that share a vision for increasing the number of ethnic minorities in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations.”

Hunter added: “Tyco is to be commended because it is backing up its commitment to diversity with a significant investment – in time, money and management resources. Tyco recognizes the importance of not only hiring qualified applicants, but of building an infrastructure that keeps the pipeline filled with the best and brightest that our profession has to offer. My hope is that other companies will follow Tyco’s lead.”

Reinforcing the need for a program of this type is the 2000 U.S. Census, which showed that only 8.4 percent of African Americans and Hispanics combined hold management positions in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations. This percentage falls significantly below the current representation of these racial groups in the United States today.

Management of Tyco’s Internship Program

TLF will be responsible for the overall management and administration of the Tyco internship program, helping to place at least 10 interns each year within Tyco’s marketing and communications departments throughout the United States.

TLF and Tyco will provide guidance, career advice and mentoring to interns, each of who will also receive a competitive salary for on-the-job training at Tyco. Internships will last approximately 12 weeks, allowing the interns to immerse themselves fully and be significant contributors to their work assignments.

Although ensuring a diverse pool of students is an important focus of this particular internship program at Tyco, the program is open to all students, regardless of race. It is also important to note that this internship program specifically targets students majoring in advertising, marketing and public relations. Tyco also offers other more broad-based internship programs.