Ideal way to get your foot in the front door
MORE than 90 per cent of employers encourage interns to return as employees, and 57 per cent get jobs on graduate schemes, according to the Institute of Student Employers (ISE).
Maths student Grace O’Halloran applied for accountancy giant PwC’s tech internship specialising in data and analysis. She says: ‘On my sixweek internship I was encouraged to talk to people working in data and analytics and apply to work on projects I was interested in. It’s a good chance to shadow people.’
At the end she was offered a place on the 2017 graduate scheme in the Leeds office tech practice, providing data analysis for PwC clients. Grace says: ‘At PwC, people report back on your performance. If an employer does not offer this, ask for managers to provide written evidence of your skills.’
ISE figures show that 87 per cent of interns who are offered jobs accept them. Among ISE member employers, median salaries rose to £350 per week. Around a fifth paid interns a salary equivalent to £21,500.
Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the ISE, says: ‘Employers are investing more as former interns are more likely to stay longer and outperform peers. Competition for internships has intensified, but there are many more paid opportunities.’
Cathy Baxter, student recruitment and early identification leader at PwC, says its summer internship programme is often a stepping stone to the graduate programme. ‘It offers a chance for students to try out their career, build skills, get paid work experience and ultimately get on to a graduate training programme,’ she adds.