• Home
• /
• Local business
• /
• Business

Mena organisations expect a growth in remote internships, survey finds

Dubai - Employers are offering expanded opportunities for guided learning for interns to gather knowledge and gain transferrable real-world skills

The number of interns looking for various learning opportunities that they can complete remotely is set to increase over the next few months, new research has shown.

According to Bayt.com’s ‘Internships in the Mena Survey’, 81 per cent of respondents expect a growth in remote internships over the next few months, whilst 91 per cent agree that internships provide a viable route to a career after they graduate by increasing fresh graduates’ chances of getting a job after college.

Organisations across the Mena region have been hiring more interns, investing in quality programmes, and working harder to bring them back as employees. Bayt.com’s survey showed that 52 per cent of companies offer internships where 60 per cent always offer a full-time job to the intern, whilst 20 per cent sometimes offer a position after the internship is complete. In addition to increasing the volume of internships, employers are broadening their offering to students as 68 per cent of respondents say that their university requires them to complete an internship or practical training.

Ola Haddad, director of Human Resources at Bayt.com, described internships as “opportunities for win-win situations.”

“Internships offer an intensive learning experience by connecting knowledge with practical business skills – providing an opportunity to put theory into practice, and expose students to the industry,” she said. “Students gain new skills, new perspectives and a new context for their education and employers gain new ideas and energy into their workplace, develop talent and potentially build a pipeline for future full-time employees.”

For the organisation, the key benefits of hiring interns include identifying talent for future positions, having extra help for small teams or departments, completing less demanding projects at low cost, and quickly filling temporary and seasonal positions. In addition, 38 per cent of respondents in the survey say that internships contribute all of the aforementioned benefits to their organisations. The survey also reveals that relevant opportunities offer interns a variety of benefits including gaining work experience, developing new skills and knowledge, building a professional network, exploring their field of interest and career potential, and all of the aforementioned benefits.

In terms of the most important skills that interns should have, respondents mentioned communication and teamwork skills as the most important, followed by time management, creativity, and research and analytical skills; 47 per cent of respondents said that interns should have all of the aforementioned skills. Survey respondents also outlined a range of factors that make internships attractive and help them make a decision. These include type of company/field of work, type of projects and job responsibilities, compensation, and the ability to obtain university credit.

rohma@khaleejtimes.com