Internships – good for them, good for us!

At eg technology we believe a great intern can make a great future appointment.

It’s that time of year again when we start the process of interviewing students who choose to have a “year in industry” as part of their degree course. Recently, we were asked if we benefit from internships, or whether it is a drain on resources to have someone with limited experience temporarily join the company. Our answer is that at eg technology, we believe that a great intern can make a great future appointment.

Over the last 15 years, we have had some exceptional interns who have not only contributed to the success of individual projects but also made a real, broader impact to the business. We look at it as “growing our own”, and we’ve made several very strong appointments from students who have spent a placement year with us and then returned as permanent employees upon completing their degrees.

We advertise strategically – we know which courses make the best design engineers – and we recruit carefully. This year we’ve received over 150 CVs from potential students, which has given us a great field to choose from.

And how do the students benefit? They gain hands-on industry knowledge which helps them to build their confidence, recognise their strengths and understand where they want to direct their career. During an internship, they develop their skills across a wide variety of disciplines, both technical and commercial, and gain valuable experience working with teams designing real-life products. Spending a year in industry gives students important professional contacts and can lead to great job opportunities.