Interns of Europe – the pathway to a career

Interns have a great opportunity, given that internships connect education with the work environment, creating a smooth transition into the workforce. Software development is among the top 10 fields that create these opportunities for the young, while more than half of the students that participate in an internship program become directly employed.

How old are the interns?

Most of the European interns are between 21-25 years old, more than 63% out of the 3,028 respondents from the EU, as per a study published by the European Youth Forum. As regarding the majority of the Romanian IT sector, companies tend to create internship opportunities for students in their final year of studies, bridging university to employment. Over 22% of the respondents said they were between 26-30, respectively over 11% said they were younger than 20 at their most recent or current internship.

Employer branding has a great influence on future interns

Even if the applicants are young and some are still students at the time of the application, they have specific companies or organizations in mind for the traineeship. According to the same study, over 32% of interns applied spontaneously to a certain company. The second biggest source to decide where to enter the selection was internet searches, with over 25% surfing the internet for internship opportunities. This data clearly shows the impact of employer branding of companies when it comes not just for job applicants but intern opportunities as well.

Since IT companies are focused on raising young talents with specifically designed initiation processes, recruiting talent directly from universities, the private sector invests more in their recruitment processes starting as early as high school. This dynamic is beneficial to the private sector and educational institutions as well, creating a common ground for closer collaboration.

Why do interns participate in internships?

The main reason the youth participates in internships is to improve their CV or employment chances. More than 77% responded that the above-mentioned is the number one motivator for them to apply.

When it comes to the IT industry, an internship is the best pathway towards employment. In AROBS, every year, over 80% of interns become full-time employees. Furthermore, after finishing the stage, the young people are better prepared for the job, are already integrated into a team, and can make an accurate decision about the level of compatibility with the organizational culture.

An internship is a beneficial experience for the interns and companies as well. While companies get to guide and form their future junior employees, interns get a real chance to improve their technical and soft skills at the same time, and more importantly, to start their careers.

Internships at AROBS

AROBS organizes around 8-10 internships yearly, each offering employment opportunities for about 60 students in their final years of study. The selected students have the chance to work on actual projects in teams, guided by professional IT specialists.

We created AROBS Junior Academy, to ensure the frictionless application process for all the students.