At least some people are satisfied in the job search as of late. An article from Reuters on Tuesday said that when it comes to finding a job, 76 percent of alumni of The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, or the TWC, said the program helped them gain the skills and knowledge necessary to advance in the careers of their choosing.

The college students who participate in this program say that they get confidence for their job search, even though the unemployment rate that is at a 26-year-high. This information about TWC comes from a survey where 500 students were asked from the organization’s 40,000 member alumni, according to Reuters

The program focuses on public service, as 63 percent of its alums said that the program inspired them to get into the public service or nonprofit sector. The survey also reported that 87 percent of the alums thought that their leadership and achievement potential greatly increased.

In summer 2009 alone, 64 percent of those who finished up the program said that they’d want to try to find a job in the public sector. Other notable stats included 59 percent of those who participated in TWC saying that by joining the program, their social and professional networks expanded greatly.

The 500 students polled were alums from 1975-2008. Those who responded are now in a variety of public service, private and nonprofit careers, Reuters reported.

The Center is located in downtown D.C. and names itself as an independent, nonprofit organization that helps hundreds of higher education institutions around the world by helping students get work and learning opportunities in D.C. for academic credit, Reuters said. It’s the biggest program of its kind around, with almost 40,000 alums making a difference in the world. For more information, visit www.twc.edu.

Our Take:

TWC seems like a great program and honestly, I wish they’d have more like it.  It took lots of time and effort on my part to find the one internship I did complete in college. For the rest of the time, I worked my butt off at the paper. Anyway, to make a long story short, I think TWC should try to get even more publicity, as if I knew of a program like this earlier, I’d have taken advantage of it in a heartbeat.