Frequently Asked Questions About Internships
What is an internship?
An internship is an educational experience for a student who has had academic training in the Graphic Arts industry. This internship gives the student an opportunity to gain actual on-the-job experience and apply knowledge from the classroom to a real world situation.
What value is there to our business?
There are many benefits that an intern can provide for you. Some of these benefits are shown below:
- A chance to “try out” a potential employee.
- An intern can help you put out more work. These people are hard working, intelligent and already have a background in the industry.
- Many interns work on special projects. One student learned a new computer program and taught it to fellow workers in a series of seminars, another helped to set up a safety program to meet OSHA standards, while another worked with SPC to set up controls for ink standards for a large printing company.
- Interns can help to cover for employees who are on vacation so production time is not lost.
How is an intern chosen?
Your selection of an intern can be done in many ways, but it would be up to you how you wish to go about making a selection. A group of resumes can be sent, and you can contact students individually for interviews; you could visit our campus and invite students to interview, or another way, the important aspect being that you determine the intern you want.
What is expected from the company?
A good learning experience for the student is foremost. While students can learn about the industry in any department or position, it is important for these future managers learn how things are managed. Many companies will rotate interns through the various departments so they have a good exposure to the whole company, others will have specific projects they want the students to work with. The amount of responsibility an intern should have is negotiable between the student, faculty supervisor, and the company.
An intern may be hired part-time on an ongoing basis, full time for 3-6 months, or a combination of the two. At the end of the internship the company needs to provide an evaluation of the intern, just as you would for any employee.
What about pay for the intern?
Most students do not have much money to be able to afford to move and cover additional living expenses. In addition, they need to pay tuition at the university. Students are very happy to gain the work experience and it is valuable to them, but please keep in mind these students do not have much free cash. It also is good psychologically if they receive appropriate compensation, indicating that they have value to your company.
What do the students have to do for the university?
They must keep a daily log of their activities and submit by email every two weeks. If appropriate the interns may keep samples of what they have done if agreeable with the employer. A final report submitted to the internship faculty supervisor may be required.