Benefits of a workplace Internship

Internships provide real world experience if you are looking to explore or gain the relevant knowledge and skills required to enter into a particular career field.

An Internship will provide you with an opportunity to put into practice skills they have learned during training and/or education, in a workplace setting, to enhance those skills, understand the current workplace environment and to benefit from a mentor or supervisor’s experience and advice.

The work environment should provide you with practical tasks to enable you to apply the particular skills that you want to learn or enhance and it will also give you the opportunity to obtain wider product or service knowledge and establish networks for future employment.

An internship in the workplace will allow you to achieve some of the following objectives:

• The opportunity to test interest in a particular career

• The work environment to learn how to apply theory to practical work situations

• To develop new skills / enhance existing skills that are directly applicable to careers

• To enhance career prospects in chosen work area

• The opportunity to develop personal attributes that contribute to effective interpersonal work relationships
• To learn good general work habits such as time management and communication skills

• To provide you with a recognised statement from the Host Company regarding the skills learned or practiced, work attitude and aptitude together with relevant references
• Opportunity to gain employment and have a career

Are you Eligible for an Internship?

In order to establish if you are eligible for an internship, you need to contact your local Social Welfare office and provide them with your pps number and details of your personal situation

You will need to answer the following two questions?

1. Are you unemployed and actively seeking work?
2. Have you been in receipt of any of the following for a minimum of three months?

• Jobseekers Allowance
• Jobseekers Benefit
• Jobseeker Transition Payment
• One Parent Family Payment
• Disability Allowance
• Signing for social insurance contribution credits
• Blind Persons Pension
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s contributory/non-contributory Pension
• Deserted Wives Benefit/Deserted Wives Allowance

If you have answered YES to any of the above and you are actively seeking employment - then this scheme may be for you!

Next Step How do you apply?

Before you start looking for an internship, think about

• What area do you wish to gain experience in?
• What do you want to gain from an internship?
• What location(s) would you be available to work in?
• Are you available for 6 or 9 months to complete an internship?
• By deciding what you want from an internship before commencing your search, you will be able to select appropriate internships that meet your needs.

Internships are not just an opportunity to learn new skills or improve existing but a way for you to impress an employer and place yourself in a position for a potential job over at the end of the internship.  If you need to discuss the benefits of an internship, please contact Joanne Fenelon at RDA on 053 9170507 or email jfenelon@rda.ie