Putting interns to work: companies give fresh university talent opportunity to prove themselves.

Human resource departments in companies throughout Mexico are discovering that internship programs can be a good solution for supplying valueadded benefits to their recruiting and personnel selection processes in both a low-risk and cost-effective manner.

Although Mexican university students have long been obligated to complete social service programs as part of their graduation requirements, these efforts have focused primarily on providing labor for non-profit organizations, Mexico's indigenous communities and their own colleges.

Internship programs, known in Mexico as practicas profesionales or programas de becarios, are a more recent addition to the country's higher education curricula. Many national universities are now including their internship programs as promotional highlights to attract more and higher-quality students looking for domestic or international work experience during their undergraduate years.

Companies participating in internship programs have experienced varied and measurable benefits; some of the most important being that the company gets interns' services at lower direct costs than that of full-time employees and without the hassle of traditional recruiting and hiring methods.

Employing interns is an effective way to test the waters prior to making a permanent job offer and to access well-educated young graduates.

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"Students apply what they have learned from, their teachers in the classroom, and companies get young bilingual people," said Todd Ellwein, dean at Mexico City's Westhill University.

In a globalized economy where flexibility in hiring and staffing procedures is often a key factor in determining a company's competitiveness, internship programs also help companies cover short-term staffing needs, maternity leaves and to extend hiring budgets.

MUTUAL SATISFACTION

Alejandra Sanchez, an administrator from the marketing intelligence department at Grupo Posadas, told BUSINESS MEXICO, "For several years we have noticed that there is always a mutual benefit. We have involved our interns in very important specific projects related to the marketing area which gives them the benefit of practicing in real situations and gives us the opportunity to get new ideas and improvements."

Future executives reap a host of benefits from the internship experience as well. Leticia Sandoval, an administrator at the Tec de Monterrey in Mexico City believes that "The greatest benefit to our students is that they can acquire professional experience while applying knowledge from the classroom to the working world. They also gain a great sense of time organization, and the companies get fresh knowledge, new ideas and a lot of creativity."

The interns benefit by acquiring a solid background to help them to get a job in the near-term future quicker than if they had graduated and searched for work without relevant experience. While rejecting the widespread belief that their office duties are comprised of fetching coffee and making copies, most interns look instead to the valuable connections they make--both in terms of the job hunt and refining their nascent skills.

Win-Win Situation

Gravy for the Companies                 Benefits for the Interns

Getting professional services at        Applying classroom knowledge to
 a low cost                              the real world
Testing a promising applicant prior to  Acquiring work experience and
 making a permanent offer                building a professional network
Acquiring new ideas and fresh           Breaking through the frustrating
 knowledge                               "no experience-no job" cycle
Covering short-term staffing needs      Putting textbook learning to use
                                         in practical setting

Edgar Del Castillo is a business research analyst at AMCHAM.