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Internships in South Africa
An internship may be defined as career-specific work experience that one undertakes either during and/or after one’s studies in order to gain practical experience in one’s chosen career. It’s a tough job market out there and any experience you can offer a potential employer can only work in your favour and make you more competitive in the job market.
Such experience also enables the individual to gain a better understanding of the nature of the working world and the challenges they will face throughout their career development process. Aside from gaining practical experience in the workplace, an internship provides the individual with the opportunity to make use of the skills acquired from the training provided at school, university or college.
The nature of an internship varies from company to company. Some internships are unpaid, yet there are many companies that pay their interns a small monthly salary.
In situations where candidates perform exceptionally well during an internship, companies often offer the intern a permanent position.
Why do an internship?
Any work experience is usually useful when compiling a CV targeted at career development. Experience as an intern not only works in your favour as you have some ‘real life’ experience, it also demonstrates your dedication and commitment to the field and your chosen career. Experience as an intern will also provide you with the opportunity to start networking with contacts that could possibly assist you in respect of your career goals in the long run.
