Internships

An internship is typically a fixed term, structured, paid work programme which is related to the student's course or career plans and mentored with supervision and feedback on work performance. Other internship models are encouraged, such as paid part time work during the year leading into a full-time project over Summer.

Internships have many benefits for both students and employers. They give employers a chance to trial students who are recent graduates or close to graduating, they provide mentoring for young people about to enter an industry, and interns may help organisations meet short term project deadlines. Interns bring enthusiasm and a fresh point of view to the workplace and come equipped with the latest academic thinking and a high level of skill. Internships are most popular in the disciplines of law, engineering, science and business.

You can advertise your internships free of charge on NZUniCareerHub

Guidelines and legalities

The following guidelines demonstrate best practice when recruiting interns. These are guidelines only.

The internship employment relationship needs to be formalised through an employment contract that should contain certain specific information, including when and how the assignment will terminate. The Department of Labour has further information, including an online employment agreement builder.
- Visit the Department of Labour website
- View the Department of Labour’s employment agreement builder
Placements are temporary and for a fixed period - though the exact period may vary from several days right up to a year in certain cases. Student holidays are common times for internships. Ensure the period is explicitly stated and agreed upon. The agreement can be for full or part-time work.
The placement should aid students in building their skills and knowledge and provide them with an opportunity to work in a professional career they are interested in. Ensure that the work offered matches the student/graduate's career goals and the skills they would like to acquire.
A job description must be agreed upon and be acceptable to both parties. A signed, written job description must be provided.
Students/graduates need to receive basic orientation at the start of the work contract as well as ongoing training to ensure they can effectively fulfil the tasks and duties expected of them.
A mentor needs to be appointed to act as an ongoing guide and support the student/graduate.
Work needs to be appropriately supervised and assistance and guidance provided where necessary.
It is expected that students/graduates will receive constructive feedback on their work performance from both the mentor and the supervisor. The feedback needs to be given directly to students and also kept on record.
Students need access to basic work equipment in order to execute their responsibilities like a desk, chair, comfortable work space, etc.
Employment should not involve high-risk tasks.
Employers are encouraged to provide students with a written reference at the completion of the placement period. The reference should include the job title, the duration of the contract, a brief description of the work they did, the way they executed the tasks, personal qualities they exhibited that contributed to a successful outcome, and any notable achievements and contributions.
Employers are also encouraged to keep in touch with students they may wish to hire when they graduate.
Multidisciplinary internship teams are becoming popular as a way of growing future project managers.

Funding

It may be possible to obtain funding to employ interns for research-based projects:

MSI Postgraduate Internships 2012

The Ministry of Science and Innovation (MSI) is inviting businesses to apply for funding to hire a postgraduate student. Seventy internships are available for postgraduate students to undertake R&D-related work with innovative businesses during a six-month period. It targets both small and large businesses as long as the work undertaken by the intern is focused on R&D beyond business as usual. Businesses will only be funded for one intern.

Based upon a maximum annual salary of $60,000, MSI will provide companies with $30,000 (plus GST) to cover the salary of the postgraduate for six months.

Businesses that want to apply for the funding will have to do so before midday, Monday 7 May 2012.

Students who are interested in the internships should keep an eye out for vacancies from successful businesses on Auckland CareerHub from 1 July onwards.