An internship is an opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees called interns, to work at a firm for a fixed or limited period of time. Internships (also called “placements”, “work placements” or “industrial placements”) may be part-time or full-time. Placements are usually full-time, and take place irrespective of term time or holiday time. They are an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from an academic setting although emphasis is placed on training rather than the job itself. Interns are usually undergraduates, students and fresh unemployed graduates.
Internships offer students a period of practical experience in the industry relating to their field of study. This experience is valuable to students as a means of allowing them to understand how their studies are applied in the “real world”, and as work experience that can be attractive to potential employers on a candidate’s CV.
Internships have varying lengths; short term and long term. Regarding pay, internships are either paid, partially paid, given in exchange for academic credit, or unpaid.
Paid Internships are common in media, engineering, legal and advertising sectors, but in cases where internships are not advertised, a student can initiate a conversation with the human resources department for a carved out position.
Internships may be the answer to Nigeria’s human resource problem. Most companies place a lot of emphasis on experience, even for entry level positions. An internship helps develop a candidate’s communication skills, personal effectiveness, presentation skills, and creative problem-solving and influencing skills thus increasing the candidate’s competitiveness.
Internships give the candidate a real insight into the world of work helping to build on the theory. Some companies also have a policy to hire their interns on completion of their studies.
In this age and time where emphasis is placed on theory in universities, internships can be a solution to help improve the quality of graduates being churned out yearly.
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This article was first published on 26th June 2014
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An internship is an opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees called interns, to work at a firm for a fixed or limited period of time. Internships (also called “placements”, “work placements” or “industrial placements”) may be part-time or full-time. Placements are usually full-time, and take place irrespective of term time or holiday time. They are an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from an academic setting although emphasis is placed on training rather than the job itself. Interns are usually undergraduates, students and fresh unemployed graduates.
Internships offer students a period of practical experience in the industry relating to their field of study. This experience is valuable to students as a means of allowing them to understand how their studies are applied in the “real world”, and as work experience that can be attractive to potential employers on a candidate’s CV.
Internships have varying lengths; short term and long term. Regarding pay, internships are either paid, partially paid, given in exchange for academic credit, or unpaid.
Paid Internships are common in media, engineering, legal and advertising sectors, but in cases where internships are not advertised, a student can initiate a conversation with the human resources department for a carved out position.
Internships may be the answer to Nigeria’s human resource problem. Most companies place a lot of emphasis on experience, even for entry level positions. An internship helps develop a candidate’s communication skills, personal effectiveness, presentation skills, and creative problem-solving and influencing skills thus increasing the candidate’s competitiveness.
Internships give the candidate a real insight into the world of work helping to build on the theory. Some companies also have a policy to hire their interns on completion of their studies.
In this age and time where emphasis is placed on theory in universities, internships can be a solution to help improve the quality of graduates being churned out yearly.
