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Australia has long been a popular study destination for international students, but with internships and work experience placements offering them the chance to earn while they learn, more students are seeking opportunities in this growing sector.
Students undertake professional internships for a variety of reasons; from gaining academic credit for their university course back home to enhancing their English language skills and having a new and unique experience. The more career-conscious student sees an internship as a way of enhancing future employment prospects, as Diana Pilling, Managing Director of Australian Internships in Milton, QLD, confirms. “[Those] dedicated to their career development either complete an internship as [part of] an academic requirement or to improve their career opportunities by gaining valuable and relevant training.”
In some countries, vocational training is seen as a necessity and Pilling relates that French and German students are particularly keen to undertake an internship of some sort. “The academic approach in these countries encourages experience abroad and they recognise the value of internationalisation as a strategy to better prepare their youth for the global economy,” she says.
Within the internship sector there are many types of opportunities available, however, paid work placements are often in the hospitality sector where there is a ready supply of work. Pilling notes that such placements are particularly popular and says this could be down to the fact that they have, “the support of the major four and five star hotel and restaurant properties throughout Australia”. Australian Internships’ Hospitality Internship Programme offers students a six-, nine- or 12-month placement in areas including housekeeping, cookery and in some cases, events and front office. Pilling points out that students should either have completed or be taking studies relevant to these vocations.
Nejka Pintaric, Marketing Coordinator at Monash Professional Internships (MPI) in Sydney, NSW, surmises that placement length also has a bearing on why students opt to take a work placement in Australia. She says, “Students can come to Australia to gain experience for half or even a whole year in a rotational role in a hotel or resort.” She also notes that immersion is part and parcel of the whole living and working abroad experience and says, “[Students] are not just visitors; they live here for six months or more and become part of the Aussie lifestyle and culture.”
With this ethos in mind, MPI offers a one-week preparation for the workplace course that offers communication language classes – specifically for non-native speakers – and excursions to different places of interest (e.g. Darling Harbour, Art Gallery of NSW etc). The course also concentrates on office topics and workplace linguistics helping students adapt to working life away from home. Pintaric says, “The idea is to make them understand how business in Australia works and what is expected from them at their workplace.”
Elsewhere, Patrick Hope, Sales Advisor at Kaplan Aspect in Sydney, NSW, says that students find the prospect of being able to support themselves financially a particular bonus. “The security of knowing they will have the opportunity to work while they study alleviates some of the financial pressure from studying abroad,”he relates. The Aspect Opus Work and Study programme combines a work placement with an English language module or extra business tuition. Such provision is obviously appreciated in the industry as the programme won the 2007 LTM Star Award for Innovation in September this year.
Meanwhile, Damon Mastandrea, Marketing Director at InterExchange in New York, NY, USA, relates that their Work and Travel Australia programme is popular with US and Canadian students. He relates, “Participants have the freedom to work and travel when and where they choose allowing them the flexibility to do different types of jobs in more than one region of the country.” Apart from offering work in hospitality, childcare and retail, this programme also includes orientation sessions – which provide useful information on rights and obligations while working in Australia and housing assistance – and even goes so far as to organise social and cultural activities for interns. Mastandrea believes this type of attention to detail makes the programme “appeal greatly to those travelling alone as well as in groups”.
The internship industry in Australia is constantly evolving and Pilling points out that progression over the last few years has been significant. “Most providers offer very structured programmes that include regular monitoring, workplace assessments and highly skilled supervisors assisting students to meet their training objectives,” she says.
There has been recent clarity in relation to visa requirements for paid placements (see page 46) and the outlook is good for operators in this field as well as potential participants. Hope from Kaplan Aspect concludes, “Having the chance to continue speaking English outside of the classroom is very important for student development and [candidates] gain valuable experience working in a foreign country.”
RELEVANT VISAS
Working Holiday Visa
This visa is for people aged between 18 and 30 years of age, who are interested in a working holiday of up to 12 months. This visa allows visitors to stay in Australia for up to 12 months, work for up to six months with each employer and study or train for up to four months.
416 Special Program Visa
This visa allows interns to do an internship for a maximum of three or six months depending on their previous study and work experience. The visa can be issued for the length of the internship plus four weeks and interns are able to receive payments from the host company. They are also allowed to study for a maximum of 20 per cent of the length of the visa.
Student Visa
Student visas are granted with a “No Work” condition. However, students can apply to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for permission to work after they have started their course.
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