The Municipal Internship Program for Land Use Planners is sponsored by Municipal Affairs in partnership with Alberta’s municipalities and planning service agencies. It is designed to attract recent post-secondary graduates to the field of municipal planning. Its objective is to assist in the training and development of competent, well-rounded municipal planners. It is expected that upon successful completion of the program, interns will be better prepared to enter the municipal planning field in Alberta’s municipalities.

The program provides funding to municipalities and planning services agencies in Alberta so that they can hire and train an intern for a two-year period. During the first year of the program, the intern will be exposed to many different aspects of municipal planning and administration. They will be mentored and coached by a senior planner in their host organization. Program scope is broad so interns have the opportunity to explore many of the key functions of municipal governments and to understand them from a planning perspective. In the second year, interns will have the opportunity to take on more responsibility and gain further experience through involvement in planning projects and issues in their host organization.

The objectives of the Municipal Internship Program for Land Use Planners are:

• to assist Alberta municipalities and planning service agencies in their succession planning efforts to recruit, train, and retain competent municipal employees who can progress into leadership positions;
• to encourage more individuals to enter the local government field and offer recent graduates who are interested in a career in municipal planning the opportunity to have first hand, real life, practical experience and training in the Alberta municipal environment; and
• to assist Alberta Municipal Affairs in meeting its goal of fostering “a responsive, cooperative, accountable and well managed local government sector which is sustainable” by encouraging and providing Alberta municipalities with the tools and programs to improve self-sufficiency.

The program is designed to provide 24 months of training for each intern. The program starts in May 2012 and ends in April 2014. The month of May is the opportune time to begin the program as, by and large, the spring graduation class from post-secondary institutions is the largest of the year. This provides a wider field of potential applicants than other possible start dates.

Please Note: Alberta Municipal Affairs may change any or all of the dates listed below should it become necessary to do so.

June 2011	Letters sent to municipalities and planning service agencies inviting them to apply to be hosts for 2012-14.
September 9, 2011	Deadline for interested municipalities and planning service agencies to submit their Program Grant Application.
December 2011	Eight host organizations will have been selected and notified in writing.
January 27, 2012	Interested internship candidates must have submitted their intern application package.
February 2012	Municipal Affairs will review applications and create a shortlist of candidates. Candidate application packages are provided to host organizations.
February - March, 2012	Hosts will conduct interviews, negotiate with candidates, and select interns.
March 30, 2012	Hosts must have their intern selected.

The ministry will be responsible for the promotion and marketing of the Internship Program for Land Use Planners. Information will be provided to career centres in post-secondary institutions. Interested candidates will be asked to submit an intern application package to the ministry by January 27, 2012.

The ministry will review all the submissions and provide a short-list of suitable candidates to the eight selected host organizations. Although flexibility in selection is desired, the establishment of some basic criteria for interns will ensure candidate suitability. Such criteria include:

• A recently completed (within the last two years) planning degree or a related degree with a minimum of two senior-level planning classes. Individuals graduating in May 2012 are eligible;
• A desire to experience and learn about municipal planning;
• Work or volunteer experience that is related to the skills needed in municipal planning and administration;
• Willingness to relocate to host municipality, if necessary; and
• Work, educational, or volunteer-related references.

The final matching of an intern to a host organization will be through an interview. Hosts will review the applications from the short-listed candidates and select those they wish to interview. Hosts will be responsible for arranging interviews with the eligible candidates. The ministry will not conduct any interviews with interested candidates.

Beyond the initial short-list provided by the ministry, host organizations will be responsible for all aspects of intern selection. Hosts will compete to offer the best possible remuneration package to interns. Various determinants may impact an intern's decision to select a particular offer, with salary only being one factor. Other issues to consider may include:

• location and cost of living in the municipality or community in which the service agency is located;
• size of the municipality or community;
• services available within the municipality or community;
• quality of the host's Workplan;
• calibre of proposed supervisor; and
• non-monetary compensation.

Organizations that have been selected to host interns must have their final intern selection complete by March 30, 2012.

The ministry will be providing grants of $43,000 to ten municipal organizations for the purposes of hosting an intern in the first year. Of that, $30,000 will be designated as part of the intern's wages, $2,000 toward benefits and $10,000 will be allotted for expenses incurred by the intern for things such as courses and travel to Municipal Affairs' sponsored training.  An additional $1000 is available to cover expenses incurred by supervisors to attend program workshops.  For the second year, $19,000 is provided to help cover salary ($15,000), benefits ($2,000) and expenses ($2,000).

Hosts may supplement the intern's wage above the base amount provided by the ministry. The final wage offer should reflect the cost of living in the municipality as well as the relevant staff pay scales. In 2008-10, the average salary ranged from $43,000 to $55,000.

Internship Workplan and Workbook

The Workplan provides a solid starting point while affording a great deal of flexibility. It provides each host with a structure to guide the training and learning of the intern and helps ensure that interns are exposed to the key aspects of municipal administration, specifically planning, and to gain an understanding of municipal structure, management, and operations. It also sets standards in terms of the requirements to complete the Internship Program and helps the intern develop competencies essential to municipal planning.

Interns are also provided with a Guidebook based on the Workplan. The Guidebook contains modules covering various topics related to municipal planning.  Each module contains information, exercises, and activities to undertake to gain first-hand experience in the core areas of planning.

Orientation Session and Workshops

As part of the internship program, Alberta Municipal Affairs provides a four-part series of training workshops. Orientations are held for both supervisors and interns at the beginning of the internship. An Executive Week for the interns is held approximately half-way through the year. Interns are introduced to numerous ministry staff who present short information sessions on their area of expertise. This is an opportunity for the interns to become more familiar with Municipal Affairs and other provincial ministries and allows them to make contact with key resources they may need to draw on as part of their work. At the end of the first year there will be a Transition session.  This session will covers topics that will be relevant as the intern transitions from their first year and into their second year.  A Wrap-Up session is held toward the end of the second year to discuss what the interns have learned during the internship, their future plans, and their recommendations for changes to the program based on their experiences.