Introduction
What do interns usually do? Are they given enough opportunities to achieve their goals while working in the organisation or are they thrown the work that nobody wants to do? What exactly should interns be doing?
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It Started in the Middle Ages
Internships evolved from long-term apprenticeships in the Middle Ages. If you were an ?intern? in the Middle Ages, you would be paying to learn a particular skill from a ?master? of that skill and you would be dependent on the ?master? for food, shelter and clothing. This ?internship? could even last for several years. Over time, the modern internship changed to what it is today, originating in the medical sector and moving to other industries in the late 19th century because of University programs in the USA, which allowed students to work at a company to earn money and gain real-world experience.
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What it Looks like Today
Today, some interns get paid to do the work while others are not paid. Internships nowadays typically last from 3 months to 6 months. Unlike the apprenticeships of the past, interns can be tasked to do a wide variety of jobs instead of just focusing on the one they applied for. At best, the interns get to learn a variety of skills in such a setting. At worst, the interns get used as menial labour, serving as a busboy, delivery boy, human filing system etc.
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Mutually Beneficial Relationship
Using a utilitarian framework to answer the question of how an internship should be tailored, the solution is one that brings maximum benefit to the maximum number of parties involved. The stakeholders involved are the company, the intern and sometimes the school that the intern attends (i.e. certain schools make it a requirement for their students to go through an internship in order to graduate; schools may even have strict criterion for the kinds of internships that students get).
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Most students (most interns are students) have 2 main goals for an internship that are practical and educational ones. Firstly, students aim to gain working experience during an internship. Secondly, it is not enough to just to gain working experience, but to gather industry insight about their particular field of study. Interns want the internship to be educational and a conducive environment to put what they?ve learnt at school into practice.
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Therefore, companies should tailor programs that enable the student to meet their educational goal and the school?s internship requirements. This does not mean that companies at the expense of their own business goals. The relationship between these stakeholders should be mutually beneficial. In order to achieve such a relationship, each party should carefully consider the prospective working partner and how well their goals fit together to achieve a maximum benefits for all parties. The goals and aims of each party should be honoured by everyone involved ? interns being responsible in the tasks assigned to them and company not short-changing the interns from having an educational and productive experience. Each party would appreciate the efforts of the other.
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Systematic Guide to Creating a Quality Internship Program
As for the company, amongst the benefits of hiring interns, the company aims to hire a flexible and cost-effective workforce, find potential full-time employees and some even to increase the visibility of the company on campus, as mentioned in a manual compiled by Michael True, director of the Internship Center at Messiah College, Pennsylvania.
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The manual, ?Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program? sponsored by the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania is a fairly comprehensive guide to constructing a quality internship program. It provides systematic steps to setting up an internship program and covers aspects, such as, how to orientate the intern, legal issues about remuneration, concerns of an intern, how to handle international interns, how to supervise interns, how to help interns make the most of the internship, templates for application and feedback forms etc.
It is a must-read when planning an internship or revising an existing program in order to achieve maximum benefits for both the company and the intern.
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Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1913474,00.html#ixzz2TWOCBiHB
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https://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~gsph/fieldpractice/sites/starting-maintaining-quality-internship-program.pdf
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Source: http://hansoken.com/students-perspectives/guide-for-companies-to-tailor-internship-programs/
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