The concept of internship historically originates from an apprenticeship, the idea of training or preparing personnel for future employment. We typically associate internships with college students, but they can be older workers in pursuit of a new career.
Internships are viewed as a vehicle to learn a new skill, gain and improve their knowledge and abilities with the end goal of gaining future employment in a particular field. These programs are mutually beneficial to both interns and employers. Interns can take advantage of in-person training and network opportunities the employer presents. Employers benefit by obtaining relatively inexpensive labor and by tapping into a pool of talent for future potential employment. Not to mention that by offering internship programs employers improve their brand recognition and status in the communities they operate. In a nutshell, internship programs are a win-win arrangement for both interns and employers.
Advantages of having an internship program:
Employers obtain relatively inexpensive labor in exchange for training.
Employers gain access to a pool of potential talent.
Employers increase brand recognition and company exposure and elevate their value in the community.
Employers increase company morale by hiring interns related to present company employees.
Employers can increase companies diversity by engaging interns from minority groups.
Great benefits to interns:
Gain real-world experience and training inside a particular industry or job before you devote time and money to qualify for that job.
Gain a competitive advantage to future employment by the proverbial getting your foot in the door. An internship can as act as an extended working interview to future jobs.
Enlarge your network and create connections with key contacts in the industry that can serve as references for future employment.
Now that we’ve described the advantages of creating an internship program, it’s up to the HR team to make it possible and execute the logistics that these programs require. HR unit is primarily responsible for the effective management of the internship program ensuring a proper balance between the employer’s interest and intern’s, which includes full compliance with state or federal laws & child labor rules if an employee is under the age of 18.
Other rules employers should we aware of are minimum wage and overtime state rules when employing interns. Employers should be careful not to discriminate illegally based on the age of the applicants for an internship. Older applicants are just as qualified in obtaining an internship position as younger ones.
Employers should be careful to comply with federal and state immigration laws when employing interns. They need to make sure the international interns have the proper visa that allows them to work in the US.
The return on investment of a successful internship program will depend on how prepared the employer is to accommodate the addition of interns to their workforce. Setting a robust training program in place to provide adequate in-person coaching to interns personnel, establishing and measuring milestones that satisfy employer’s business goals.
NexusCW is well-versed when it comes to working with interns. We become the Employer of Record to all your interns and take over all administrative and compliance burden that comes with employing interns while providing all framework and metrics you’ll need to establish a successful internship program. Contact us today to find out how we can help you achieve success with your internship program.
