Employers

Internship NZ has worked with the New Zealand Immigration Service to develop a work experience/internship programme that will enable skilled students from overseas to work in NZ for six months or longer.

Background
Internships are compulsory in many overseas study programmes at universities, technology institutes and polytechnics. To stand out from the mass, a rising number of students take on internship placements abroad. International experience is extremely valuable when applying for a position after graduating.

As an employer you may be offered interns who can intern unpaid or who may require payment (wages). A large number of students take on an internship while financing it themselves or are financially supported by their institutes to accomplish and internship overseas.

The students have been pre-screened by Internship NZ for this programme, so that you can be assured that all legal and programme requirements are met. They are highly motivated, well qualified and will be eager, in the years to come, to continue professional and commercial contacts as they take on positions of prominence in their fields

Demand for internships in New Zealand are in the following areas:

• Agriculture (dairy; forestry; horticulture)
• Business (administration, finance, marketing, IT)
• Ecology (conservation; farming effects on the environment and on people)
• Tourism Management
• Hotel/Hospitality Management
• Engineering

Benefits to employers
Companies who hire foreign interns on this programme find that this broadens their own staffs’ understanding of a foreign culture and stimulates new business ideas. As well:

• Interns will typically be bi-lingual or multi-lingual – a major asset to NZ companies seeking to enter/grow their business in offshore markets where language is an issue;
• Interns bring fresh ideas and an international perspective to the company;
• Interns will work in a similar employment field in their home country, providing valuable links between their NZ employer and their employer overseas;
• Organisations are not making long-term staffing commitments by participating in this programme;
• Interns will have completed or be completing a relevant course of study in their home country that is matched to your business needs eg marketing, business administration, engineering, IT etc;
• Often interns have completed or are completing courses of study that are more specialised or different from those available in NZ; and
• Interns’ credentials are thoroughly vetted by qualified consultants.

We've included some futher information on the overall benefits here >>

How you help New Zealand students
All Internship/Trainee programmes are regulated by government-approved agreements. Internship NZ offers reciprocal “Work Abroad” programmes, which allow many New Zealand students to have internships abroad. When you hire a foreign student you are opening up a similar opportunity for a New Zealander abroad.

Duration of Internship/extensions
The work permit/visa lasts for up to 12 months and is issued for the exact dates of internship, as per employer’s notification. At the end of the internship, an intern can apply for an extension of up to six months at a time. Both employer and intern must request the extension. The terms of the internship must have been met. Applications for extensions can be made to Internship NZ using the appropriate form.

Wages
The only cost to the employer is the intern’s wage. We ask that the interns get paid what workers doing the same job are being paid (we do not want the interns exploited). We advise our interns that the minimum wage in New Zealand is $12.00 per hour, and that in most cases they will be paid more than this. We ask that the interns get between 30 – 40 hours per week (or enough for them to “live” comfortably).

If the intern proves they are reliable and a good worker we would like the intern to be able to work in as many roles as possible to fulfill their internship requirements. We ONLY expect this if they have proved they are of value and this would be of assistance to the employer.

For further information click here for our Employer Information Sheet in PDF format.