Internship carousel for IJmond talent
How do you ensure that students get to experience all facets of engineering in their education so that they can make an informed choice for their future? You let them participate in an internship carousel. An idea that originated with Techport partners Nova College and Microtechnology, in which students intern at six different Techport companies for a year.
The idea of the internship carousel was born in 2019. Herman Labee, Nova College: "Students used to do internships at one or, at most, two companies in our industry during their studies, which meant they didn't come into contact with all aspects of engineering, while Mechanical Engineering is such a broad profession where there is a lot to discover. What we want is for students to make a good choice for the future and to do what they really like. That's why we partnered with ProYoung through Microtechnology. We were able to arrange it so that students spend a year as interns for 2 months at a total of 5 or 6 companies. By having them intern at several companies, they can indicate after a year which direction they like and which they don't like. Based on this experience, they make the choice for a longer internship period."
Clement Kieftenbeld, director of Microtechnology and ProYoung: "Through ProYoung, we arrange everything for the student. We enter into a contract with the student, but also with the parents, school and companies. We guide the students in their studies and we place the students with companies for internships. In addition, they receive the minimum youth wage immediately, they are guided by mentors and can also use a homework class. There are now eight companies involved where 7 students are currently interning in the carousel. The companies involved are Harsveld Apparatenbouw B.V., Hmw Industriële Service Comb CV, GWOC B.V., Microtechniek Productie, Microtechniek Service, VSA Technische Service B.V., Ovenbouw Holland B.V. and Geveltechniek IJmond B.V. The advantage for the companies is that they see different students passing by. They know immediately with whom they do or do not click and can thus get the best out of them. Another advantage is that ProYoung arranges the guidance of the students. The company gets a point of contact and the supervisors also visit regularly. In this way there are short lines of communication and adjustments can be made in time if necessary."
Cindy van Sluis is the contact person for ProYoung on behalf of Nova College: "Together with the mentors of ProYoung, I regularly visit companies. It is also my job to see how the students are doing. What I get from the students is that they really enjoy getting to know different companies. They sometimes find the internships a bit short, but they often know after the period of a year which company and which work they like and which ones they don't." Willem Sickinghe of ProYoung adds: "At the beginning of the program you see the students come in a little shy and in the last turn of the carousel they walk in confidently. They are on time and really want to be. That's nice to see."
Clement does have some ideas for the future: "In the coming year, we will explore with the schools and the companies how the approach can be expanded and strengthened. Techport has received a grant from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region (MRA) for this purpose. In addition, in cooperation with education, I want to offer this approach as a package, which includes training, coaching and a job. In addition, I would really like to work with the students and companies to create a community. Think of a joint field day, sailing or having lunch together. I want to create a place for the talent of IJmond where everyone wants to belong."
Are you a company interested in joining the internship carousel as well? Let us know at secretariaat@techport.nl.