It’s important that you have realistic expectations of trainees based on their CV, any interview you may conduct and the information that the Partnership International project manager provides for you. An trainee’s normal working day should be 6 hours long, and a working week of 5 days, Monday to Friday is standard. Some trainees 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. Their language skills can range from excellent to satisfactory and you must consider 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 do their best!
CAN I INTERVIEW THE TRAINEE 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 organise one. Many interviews conducted are to check language levels of candidates. If you want a quick way to do this prior to arrival, the majority of CVs have an EU self-assessment grid on them with C2 being the best standard, B2 being high intermediate level and A2 being upper beginner level.
Most trainees however do not arrive to their host city until just before their placement begins. This means face-to-face interviews are often impossible prior to arrival. We can though, organise telephone or Skype interviews at any time before the placement is due to begin.
The vast majority of trainees are very fast learners and given the right direction and support they can provide excellent support to your company. They are looking to develop their skills and practice what they have learned in school or college or are in the process of learning. It’s important to remember that this is an opportunity for both the trainee and your company – the more training and guidance you give, the greater the range of tasks, then the more satisfied the trainee will be and consequently the more quality work 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 traineeship. All our participants are here for the opportunity to learn, to boost their CV and to improve their English. They want to integrate into a new country, culture and workplace in order to expand their own horizons.
The vast majority of our trainees 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 and improve their language skills. All our students are screened by their home institutions and by ourselves. We recommend they undertake up to 3 weeks intensive lessons before their placements. We have an excellent host company retention rate and many of our participants have been offered employment after they complete their traineeship, a clear reflection of the calibre of trainees that we work with on a regular basis.
We work on a ‘one trainee, one traineeship’ policy. Our ethos is built around supporting the trainees and the host companies to ensure the traineeship 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 trainee 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 trainee on for the initial agreed duration. Trainees 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. We do require a short-written report via email to add to the students training documents.
Well that’s fantastic news! It’s proof we did our job well, and that the trainee has more than adequately proven their skills, ability and drive to you.
Normally, once the official placement period is over the trainee will return to their home country to continue their education and complete their studies. However, should you want to offer them a paid contract, you will have to check with the trainee to see if there are any restrictions on his or her ability to stay in Ireland and work for you. This would be between you and the trainee and beyond the remit of Partnership International.
For further information about hosting international interns please read our pages on ‘The Career Training 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!
Réaliser un stage à Cork a été une opportunité extraordinaire pour booster ma future carrière! Le stage répondait à mes attentes de A à Z, j’ai eu l’occasion de travailler au sein d’une équipe dynamique, et j’ai énormément appris, aussi bien d’un point de vue professionnel que personnel. De plus, l’Irlande est un pays magnifique, il est impossible de ne pas tomber sous son charme! Si j’ai un conseil à vous donner, c’est de faire confiance à Partnership International pour votre stage à l’étranger!
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!
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!
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!
Me ha gustado mucho realizar unas prácticas de 3 meses en Cork. De hecho, voy a quedarme aquí otros 3 meses más (¡la empresa donde hice las prácticas me ha contratado!). La ciudad es muy agradable y todo el mundo es muy atento, amable y con una mente muy abierta. Lo peor, como español, es el tiempo y los precios. Mi inglés ha mejorado mucho y he viajado por esta magnífica isla, así que creo que esta experiencia ha sido perfecta. Tomé una gran decisión al animarme a hacer las prácticas con Partnership International. La bienvenida tanto de Partnership como de la empresa fueron excelentes.
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.
