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Manual for practical courses and Internships

Practical courses win an increasing meaning for your optimal occupation start. Everyone should take the chance of completing a practical course for a term or longer during their study.
In some cases one needs to take part in a practical course even before their study begins, in order to become certified in their field of study.

Why and for what: Each kind of practical exercise, training and experience is very important as it gives you an advantage in the future when you enter the job market.
Globalization always continues to progress therefore it is very important to learn different languages, in order to be able to develop your skills further. Practicing the language in the country where it is spoken can help a great deal, this in turn will help improve your speaking skills. You will also be able to gain many cultural experiences, which is very important, in order to be able to come into the working sphere rightfully.
Communication is an important Soft-Skill beside others, it is vital to be able to communicate well at work and with collegues as well as when you are searching for a job.

Which Internship: One always connects practical experiences with practical courses. There are many different kinds of practical courses. Basic practical courses, annual practical courses, operating practical courses, special trainee programs or basic internships. Furthermore you can complete a foreign practical course during one practice term.
Many students select some of these possibilities, as they can learn a foreign language as well as learn about another culture. These courses are also available to those who would like to strengthen their existing language skills, in order to develop themselves further.

Types of internships

Cooperative education (co-ops): This type of internship is a three-way partnership between a student, an employer and a college or university. In allows students to intergrate work experience in to their academic study for either one term or one year.
Participating students work in jobs related to their degrees in order to complete their year. For example if a student is studying Information Technology, they might get a work placement in a IT company, such as IBM, or Microsoft.
Students may have to do their placement abroad or in their home country depending on the course that they study. Some universities may offer students grades, based on the evaluation from the company. Other universities may not give grades for the actually placement but may ask you to complete an assignment related to the work.
The aim of a work placement is to help prepare students for their future career.
Voluntary internship: This type of internship may take place before a student starts university, during the summer months when students have holidays or after students have graduated. This option is very common as it allows students to gain relevant work experience in their field of study, which in turn will help them in their future career.
Externship: Externships are distinguished by their short duration. The student spends a short period of time (usually one to three weeks) observing and often working with professionals in their career field of choice. Students experience a typical day on the job and observe the work environment. Externships enable students to investigate a career field without making a long-term commitment.
They are most common in the legal and medical fields and are unpaid. For pre-med students, externships usually involve shadowing a medical doctor in the emergency room or in a high-volume clinic. For first-year law students, legal externships are often a brief clerkship in which you handle documents and file petitions.
Apprenticeship: If students want to learn a highly skilled trade, and make money doing it, apprenticeships offer both practical experience and in-school training. Apprenticeships are paid and wages increase as the apprentice gains experience. Apprenticeships vary in length from one to five years. Industries that usually offer apprenticeships include the culinary arts, electronics technology, graphic art, clothing design, jewellery and goldsmithing, and plumbing technology.

Application for an internship or trainee placement

For each kind of internship you have to apply - mostly in a written format. You must include an application or a motivation letter, a tabular personal record with your knowledge and abilities and if available different practical experiences that you may have gained.

After the application has been sent and received, you may be invited to take part in an interview. The interview can take place personally or by telephone. The telephone interview is usually used in the application process for foreign practical courses, this helps companies to decide if the applicant is suitable for the job before inviting them to another country.

The face-to-face interview will take place if the applicant is in the country where the work placement will be completed.

Internship agreement: When doing an obligatory internship usually the university prepares the contract. The agreement will contain information about the intern and the company he/she is working for along with a detailed job description. The agreement will also state who the supervisor of the intern is during their internship.

The role of the supervisor will be to ensure the intern is given relevant work and is guided through his/her time at the company.

In addition the contract will contain formal information about holidays, payment, duration etc.
An internship agreement on a vouluntary basis may differ slightly in regards to the layout, payment, duration etc, but should contain all the points mentioned above.

Remuneration

The payment is handled in various ways depending on the company because only a small amount of companies are willing to pay salaries, therefore most practical courses are on a voluntary basis ? this means the trainee gets no payment. However some companies pay an achievement bonus at the end of the practical course. Therefore the more effort that you put in to the job, the better the results will be, and the more recognition you will gain, which may increase your chances of a bonus.
However in marketing and sales jobs commision is usually paid.
Other companies may provide accommodation, pay home journey flights, lunch expenses, or any travel expenses that you may have in order to get to and from work. Companies may offer you these things plus many more rather than paying you on a monthly basis.
You may be able to negotiate the remuneration at the beginning of the practical course.
This topic should only be discussed briefly within the interview, as this addresses courage and shows that you are not money hungry!

During the practical course you will learn alot which will be helpful to you in the future. The host companies are always willing to spend time teaching you new things and sometimes may even provide further trainning.

Practical course certification

At the end of each traineeship you?ll get a practical course certification (sometimes called evaluation) from the practical course enterprise, which you can use for your personal record. This evaluation contains which tasks and which position you as the trainee had in the enterprise.

Furthermore the certification contains the trainees abilities, the tasks fulfilled as well as an overall view of the trainee. In addition it may say how the trainee adapted to the work situation, for example the way in which he/she interacted with other staff, and how well certain tasks were completed.

After completion of the course

When the practical course is completed successfully, people normally return to their studies, others may even spend another term completing a practical course elsewhere.
After the course you will have a clearer view of what you want to do in your future- if you still study you might think about a master or a postgraduate degree. The internship will help you to see which skills you need to improve on from the ones that you have learned and maybe an internship in the right company might even give you the possibility to start your career there. An internship abroad also gives you the chance to be part of another culture and maybe you will discover that the surrounding fits well your personal satisfaction.

Result: Everyone should use offered possibilities, in order to gain practical experiences, whether it is abroad or in your home country, because the more experience you gain, the more of an advantage you will have when applying for a future job. The reason for this is that each future employer will look at your personal record to see whether you have gained any practical experience, from this they will be able to see the sort of work that you are capable of doing.

Authoress: Daniela Grosse, Arrangement: Pooja Kotecha

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