Quincy Sun // Published June 22, 2017 // By Quincy Sun Staff

Pictured Left to Right: Ike Nnah, IntelyCare Co-Founder; Ilyass Hhamou, Quincy College Graduate, QCIP Intern, and Back-end Developer with IntelyCare; Bilal Elezi, Quincy College Graduate, QCIP Intern, and UX/Front End Developer with IntelyCare; and Chris Caulfield, NP, Chief Nursing Officer and IntelyCare Co-Founder. (Photo Courtesy of Quincy College)

Intelycare Co-founders Ike Nnah and Chris Caulfield with Quincy College Graduates and IntelyCare employees, Ilyass Hmamou and Bilal Elezi at the new IntelyCare headquarters in Quincy.

The Quincy Collaborative Internship Program (QCIP), a collaboration between Quincy College, the City of Quincy, and MountainOne Bank has resulted in the gainful employment of two of the first students to participate in the program. Quincy College graduates, Ilyass Hhamou and Bilal Elezi are now gainfully employed at local healthcare staffing company, Intelycare. This initiative highlights the successful outcome of paid internships, collaboration, and workforce development for the South Shore.

Hhamou is a back-end developer for Intelycare, a Quincy based on-demand healthcare staffing agency. Elezi is a UX/Front End Developer. They crossed the stage with diploma in hand gainfully employed, thanks to an internship opportunity sponsored by the Quincy Collaborative Internship Program.

Reflecting on the QCIP internship experience that lead to his gainful employment, IHhamou stated: “My internship via the Quincy Collaborative Internship Program has been nothing short of amazing. This was the first step toward a career. This afforded me the practical opportunity to apply concepts learned directly in class to assignments on the job.”

From a small business perspective, paid internships help relieve the payroll burden for small business, allowing access to a talented student pool locally. Qualified, paid student interns can support a business holistically, leading to increased productivity, allowing the employer more time for higher-level tasks, and rejuvenating the workforce with new skills and talents, particularly offering insight into new and emerging technologies like social media, mobile, and web development.

“The Quincy Collaborative Internship Program was the perfect fit for Intelycare. We are in a significant growth mode and the opportunity to work with college students who are adaptable, skilled, engaged, and interested in helping our company grow is critical to our success during this period of exponential growth. We look forward to continuing the Quincy Collaborative Internship Program partnership and to creating a workforce development pipeline that will enable interns to transition, based on their performance and work ethic to employment,” David Coppins, Chief Executive Officer, of IntelyCare.

In April 0f 2016, Quincy College in partnership with the City of Quincy, and MountainOne Bank announced the creation of the Quincy Collaborative Internship Program, a partnership between Quincy College, the City of Quincy, and MountainOne Bank. This collaboration offers paid internship opportunities to Quincy College students who will be partnered with a pre-approved small business in the community. Paid QCIP internships were made possible thanks to the financial investment and endowment of the QCIP by MountainOne Bank.

“There is no overstating what can be accomplished when the educational innovation of Quincy College partners with the private sector – for our young people and for our business community,” Mayor Thomas Koch said.

Quincy College in partnership with the City of Quincy and MountainOneBank look forward to fostering students and supporting local businesses. For more information about the Quincy Collaborative Internship Program, please contact Tina Cahill, Director of Institutional Advancement at tcahill@quincycollege.edu or visit website: www.quincycollege.edu/qcip.