On behalf of the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Outreach partners, we would like to congratulate you on your first step toward building or improving a comprehensive, competitive internship program for your organization. Through internships and externships, a company can provide exciting work in aerospace and a rewarding learning experience for young professionals, who are the industry's future. Interns also will gain insight into the demands and tasks of the many roles, as well as the important internal and external interactions that make up the team. The power of internships as a first step to expose youth to careers creates advantages such as opportunities for improvements through more collaborative working, while giving interns the opportunity to explore various jobs to find the right fit. Employers can tap into the unique skills interns can bring to the workplace, including a global perspective. As cited by the World Money career report, “We’re still looking at the entry-level talent pool as a cost, but this new type of talent is the key to innovation.” Perhaps employers should look to utilize the unique skills of varied generations and view interns as innovators to the future. Throughout this toolkit, you will see a collection of international aviation best practices that are designed to help you recruit and retain a talented aviation workforce. To get started employers can use the internship templates in this toolkit and professional organizations to align their internship program with a school, or solicit open internships. The purpose of this toolkit is to: • Cover the five (5) steps essential to structuring a successful internship program. • Outline each step in detail. • Provide templates, resources and information to assist with structuring an internship program. • Provide best practices for each step.