Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Superintendent H.T. Sanchez and several local business leaders helped create a paid summer internship program for incoming TUSD high school seniors, the Tucson Metro Chamber said last week.

The internship program focused on automotive technologies since Sanchez and the business leaders believed there is a great shortage of employees in that field. Eight local auto service centers were chosen to test the pilot internship program this summer.

The six-week pilot program officially launched in June, and of the eight students that participated, five completed the paid program and were offered part-time jobs for their senior year. Three were offered full-time jobs upon graduation.

The chamber's next step is to create a task force to expand the program into additional career sectors with the help of local business leaders. Chamber members hope to have as many as 60 students participating in paid internship programs soon.