It’s important that you have realistic expectations of interns based on their resume, any interview you may conduct and the information that the Partnership International project manager provides for you. An intern’s normal working day should be 7 hours long, and a working week of 5 days, Monday to Friday is standard. Some interns may be younger and only just starting out on their work journey, others will have a good deal of experience and skills but want to work in a new country. You must take into account that they will ask questions and may not fully understand everything first time round. They will however be happy to work, excited at the opportunity and interested to learn. They will seek guidance and want to be stimulated in their workplace but at the same time they will be eager to please and do their best to impress!
CAN I INTERVIEW THE INTERN BEFORE ACCEPTING?Absolutely! If you feel that an interview is necessary for the position or you simply want to get to know the candidate before they start we can organize one. Most interns however do not arrive into Ireland until just before their placement begins. This means face-to-face interviews are often impossible prior to arrival. We can though, organize telephone or Skype interviews at any time before the placement is due to begin.
An intern can realistically perform any tasks a regular paid employee can do, though their skill level may be lower. The vast majority of interns are very fast learners and given the right direction and support they can provide excellent support to your staff members. They are looking to develop their skills and practice what they have learned or are in the process of learning. It’s important to remember that this is an opportunity for both the intern and your company – the more responsibility you give, the greater the range of tasks, then the more satisfied the intern will be and consequently the more work of quality you will receive from them.
Our participants are highly motivated, willing to learn and excited about the opportunity! Most will have good communication and interpersonal skills. They will all have basic computing skills and many will have a range of interests and abilities in their chosen field of work. A majority will have had prior work experience, often in their sector, and be well prepared for the internship. All our participants are here for the opportunity to learn, to boost their resume. They want to integrate into a new country, culture and workplace in order to expand their own horizons.
The vast majority of our interns come from either an academic or vocational background. Many are in the middle of their studies, whilst others have already graduated and are looking for their first opportunity to put their studies to use. Some are already working for companies in their home country and are funded to train in a different environment. All of our students are screened by their home institutions and by ourselves. We have an excellent host company retention rate and many of our participants have been offered employment, a clear reflection of the caliber of interns that we work with on a regular basis.
We work on a ‘one intern, one placement’ policy which means we do everything in our power to match the intern to the company correctly first time. As a company our ethos is built around supporting the interns and the host companies to ensure the internship runs smoothly. We’re always on hand to deal with any issues which may arise, and we encourage these to be brought forward immediately. In the extremely rare occurrences when a placement is not working out and all necessary steps have been taken to resolve the issue (in line with your company procedures), then you are under no obligation to keep the intern on for the initial agreed duration. Interns are subject to the same company rules and policies as all staff members and whilst some leeway is often given, ultimately they must be subject to those rules should misconduct occur.
Well that’s fantastic news! It’s proof we did our job well in placing them with you, and that the intern has more than adequately proven their skills, ability and drive to you. Once the official placement period is over the intern is free to consider any and all job offers and should be dealt with directly concerning any contract or conditions of work. You may have to check with the intern or with Partnership International if there are any restrictions on the interns ability to stay in Ireland, however this would be rare. Any offer you do make however should be treated as a temporary contract or full employment rather than a continuation of the internship itself. 
We’re always delighted when this happens and we’re happy that it is not an infrequent occurrence with our candidates!
For further information about hosting international interns please read our pages on ‘The Internship Process‘ and ‘Information for Host Companies‘.
If you’re ready to start hosting interns then please register your interest here and we’ll be in touch very soon!
This experience have been really positive for me. I have learned how to live independently, how to value a lot of things (a job, a weekend, to do the shopping, to save money, to spend money in a responsible way, etc.). I also have demonstrated to myself that I am a professional and that I enjoy teaching a lot. Now I know that I am qualified to be a teacher in a different country with a different language. I recommend this programme for everybody because it is fantastic!
First of all, I really love Cork! The people are very nice and friendly. My placement was with a very cool and friendly company as well. I enjoyed the time with my cool colleagues and boss! My work was familiar to me because I translated documents like I am learning in Germany. I would recommend an internship in Cork for every student because it is worth it. You improve your language skills and learn the culture. The Irish accent is also very cool but funny as well! So, I really enjoyed my time here. Thank you Partnership International!
With my internship, organised by Partnership International, I got to visit many different Irish companies and was involved with introducing international students to them. I was also involved with inductions and orientations for foreign students. My work also included office administration. My colleagues were really nice so the working experience was very good. And I got to see a bit of Ireland while there. I’ve been to the Cliffs of Moher, a whiskey distillery, a falconry and many places more. So, overall it was a great experience and I would totally recommend it!
Ireland is an absolutely nice country, people are very kind and friendly, the nature is beautiful even if the weather is not as good as you’d expect. I lived in the city of Cork. It’s not so big but it’s really nice and you cannot get lost there.
I got this opportunity thanks to Partnership International. I worked in Cork for a month and I can say it was the best practical training which I ever had.
So after all, I have to say it was an absolutely great opportunity to get to know a new country/city, people and to make an intercultural experience. I am lucky that Partnership International organised everything so well and that they were hands-on to their students the entire trip. Thanks very much for everything and keep doing what you are doing! It will definitely not be my last time in Ireland and you helped me to open new ways! Cheers!
I really liked doing an internship in Cork for 3 months. In fact, I’m going to stay here another 3 months (the company where I did the internship hired me!). The city is nice and everybody is very kind, friendly and open-minded. The worst for me, as Spanish, is the weather and the prices. My English is improving a lot and I travelled around this awesome island, so I think as a vital experience it was perfect. I’ve made a great decision taking this internship with Partnership International, the welcome was excellent as was the company where I did my internship.
My internship has given me the opportunity to learn a lot and to improve my professional skills in a foreign language. It was a great opportunity for me to gain practical skills and work within a professional team. The lessons I learned as an intern are still with me today and I’m thankful to all the team of Partnership International who were a real pleasure to deal with. I would recommend an experience like this to everyone.
