Build Talent. Inspire Growth. Invest in the Future of Your MSP

Why YOU should build an internship program.

The Talent Dilemma

The IT industry is facing a well-documented talent shortage. In the MSP space, it’s even more pronounced. You’re not just competing with other tech companies—you’re competing with startups, SaaS firms, and enterprise giants who can outspend you on senior hires. Entry-level talent might seem easier to find, but it’s rarely ready. And poaching mid-level engineers has become prohibitively expensive, often with diminishing returns.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Hiring externally for Level 2 and Level 3 technicians costs significantly more over time. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that the average cost-per-hire is over $4,700¹. That figure doesn’t include the cost of onboarding, training, or the time it takes for a new hire to become fully productive. Meanwhile, the turnover rate for tech roles is high—13.2% annually, according to LinkedIn’s global data²—with even higher churn in entry-level roles. Every departure costs you time, client satisfaction, and continuity.

And the diversity gap? It’s not just a moral issue. It’s a missed business opportunity. McKinsey’s landmark report on diversity found that ethnically and gender-diverse teams outperform less diverse ones by up to 35% in profitability³.

The Smarter Investment

An internship program allows you to:

• Develop exactly the skills your MSP needs.
• Shape work habits and documentation standards from day one.
• Identify top talent earlier—and at lower cost.
• Build loyalty and lower turnover.
• Improve diversity through targeted outreach and inclusive mentorship.
• Reduce ramp time for junior hires and fill your Level 1 pipeline.
• Inspire your current team by giving them the opportunity to mentor, lead, and teach.

And when done right, it becomes a virtuous cycle: your senior staff grow as leaders, your interns grow into contributors, and your culture gets stronger with every cohort.

A Case Study: Gozynta’s Internship Program in Action

At Gozynta, we built our development internship program in partnership with Codam Coding College, a tuition-free, peer-led school focused on practical coding skills. We didn’t just post a job—we became part of their ecosystem. We showed up as speakers. We mentored students. We built relationships. The results speak for themselves: we brought in six developers through the program, five of whom were women from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. That wasn’t a coincidence. That was intentional design. We focused on inclusion, mentorship, and a learning-first culture. Five of those interns have since grown into critical roles on our team.

Program Design: How to Build a Strong Internship Pipeline

Step 1: Forge Strategic Partnerships

Partner with local colleges, trade schools, and workforce development programs. The goal is not just recruiting—it’s visibility.

What worked for us:

• Speak in classrooms and at career events.
• Prioritize underrepresented voices—send female engineers and diverse staff to represent your company.
• Build relationships with faculty to identify high-potential students.
• Invite students to shadow your team or attend internal events.

Pro tip: Don’t just recruit. Inspire.

Step 2: Hire for Aptitude, Not Experience

Interns won’t know your stack. That’s not the point. What you want are learners, not knowers.

“You’re not hiring for skills. You’re hiring for the way they think. Can they break down a problem? Can they learn on their own? That’s harder to teach than syntax.” — Brian Johnson, CTO of Gozynta

What to assess:

• Curiosity
• Persistence
• Thought process
• Communication
• Willingness to take feedback

Skip the checklist interviews. Focus on potential and mindset.

Step 3: Structure the Program Around Growth

Timeline: We recommend an 8–12 week internship program. Long enough for them to contribute. Short enough to maintain momentum.

Compensation: Always pay your interns. Unpaid labor is not sustainable, ethical, or inclusive. Paid internships attract better candidates and signal that you value their time.

Mentorship Model: You must commit to weekly 1-on-1s (O3s). This is where the real learning happens:

• “What did you struggle with?”
• “How did you try to solve it?”
• “What did you learn?”
• “What could you do differently next time?”

These conversations accelerate development more than any task assignment.

Entry-Level Project Work: Start with low-risk, high-learning tasks:

• Provisioning demo or staging systems
• Documenting SOPs
• Replicating production setups in sandbox environments
• Researching compatibility issues or patch notes

As they gain confidence:

• Password resets
• Basic ticket triage
• Shadowing production work

Step 4: Conversion and Long-Term Retention

Internships aren’t tryouts. They’re investments. Even if you don’t hire every intern, the process improves your internal clarity, your documentation, and your leadership culture.

“Level 1s are easy to find. Level 2s and 3s are expensive. If you grow them, they stay longer—and they get your way of doing things.” — Brian Johnson, CTO of Gozynta

Retention is about trust, growth, and culture. Interns who start with you early are far more likely to stay—if they feel seen, supported, and given a path forward.

Conclusion: Interns Aren’t Cheap Labor. They’re Future Leaders.

A well-run internship program is not charity, and it’s not a shortcut to cheap labor. It’s a strategy. It’s a force multiplier. You’ll spend time training them. And if you do it right, they’ll return that investment tenfold—by stepping into the exact roles you need, already aligned to your systems and culture.

And most importantly: you’ll be doing the hard work of fixing the tech talent pipeline from the inside. Creating opportunity. Increasing access. Building a team that reflects the diversity of your clients and communities. That’s not just good business. That’s leadership.

Need Help Starting?

Gozynta Consulting can help.

We’ve built our own internship program. We’ve tested what works. And we can help you do the same—tailored to your tools, your team, and your growth goals.

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