‘Ultimate’ Tech Internship Puts Indy on Map
Langellier has been president and CEO of Techpoint for the last four years.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOfficials say efforts designed to build a technology talent pipeline are beginning to pay dividends. Xtern, billed as the ultimate technology internship, just completed its third summer, attracting more than 900 applications for just 131 slots. The interns, who received paid summer positions at local tech companies, came from 58 universities in 18 states. In an interview this weekend on Inside INdiana Business Television, TechPoint Chief Executive Officer Mike Langellier said the program is changing perceptions about starting a career in Indiana.
"Coming in, we asked them how likely are you to want to live and work in Indianapolis and Indiana in the tech community and only 12 percent said yes," said Langellier. "By the end of the program 78 percent said they are likely to live and work here."
Langellier said Techpoint’s talent initiatives have grown substantially since launching three years ago and are benefiting from momentum in the Hoosier tech sector, including more than $5 billion in acquisitions and Initial Public Offerings in the past decade.
Initially, the focus was on finding software engineers, but Techpoint found the need is bigger than software and tech. The organization now oversees five programs in its talent portfolio, including a Sales Bootcamp. "We had individuals who were bartenders or unemployed or just graduated and didn’t know what they were going to do next that are now working in the tech community," said Langellier.