Interns at PELabs are high-school students in or near the Hartford (CT) School District; most PELabs interns are recruited from NAF-based academies: Hartford Public High School, High School Inc. and Pathways Academy of Technology & Design.  All interns receiving compensation must be eligible for support from community partners such as the Capital Workforce Partnership. A high school student could consider volunteering as an unpaid intern if he or she is not eligible for funding.  We are always keen to work with interested and motivated students seeking opportunities to grow his or her entrepreneurial skills; learn more and apply on our internship page.

More information about PELabs can be found at pathwayselabs.com

During the summer, free food is provided for all interns. However, interns can bring their own food and they are allowed to leave to get fast food if so desired.

PELabs is a summer internship program that runs for approximately five weeks.  Interns work approximately 120 hours total. In 2019, PELabs ran Monday – Thursday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM from June 24 to July 25, plus an orientation day on Thursday, June 20th.  

Pathways Entrepreneurship Labs is a unique high school internship experience, teaching the fundamentals of professionalism and experiencing the range of business products across our departments while engaging in practical solutions to common business needs for our clients.  All interns will have an entrepreneurial understanding of creating a business, manufacturing a product, promoting the product and business, and representing the business and product in presentation and networking. Since PELabs internships are open to high-school aged students, we encourage students to apply during their ninth-grade year for the summer session at an age earlier than the minimum age for most other internships.  While we welcome returning PELabs interns back, we do encourage upperclassmen and women to pursue specialized internships in their desired fields with companies that can provide career opportunities. PELabs interns have a great track record of success in obtaining these highly competitive industry internships.  

The NAF model of internships requires interns to produce work that is of value to the client, receive direct adult supervision, and are employed a minimum of 120 hours paid at no less than the minimum wage.  Paid compensation is integral to proving the value of the work and effort produced by interns. In 2019, PELabs interns were paid at a rate of $10.10 per hour; interns are compensated only for the days and hours they are sign in and are ready for work.  PELabs interns must be enrolled for funding through a community partner to receive a wage. Paychecks are usually produced after a two-week pay period. Direct deposit of paychecks is encouraged to receive pay arriving after the PELabs session ends.