If you think internships aren't worth the effort, think again!

Sophie White and Stuart vanTurnhout discussing aspects of a prototype myoelectric prosthetic hand during assembly.

According to the latest Hays Salary Guide, 96% of New Zealand tech employers believe the skills shortages will impact operations or growth. Despite this desperate outlook, many employers are still reluctant to hire junior talent.

Heather Chambers investigates…

What talent shortage?

According to the Digital Tech Industry Transformation Plan:

“The Digital Tech profession primarily has a larger “skills mismatch” issue than an overall “shortage” issue. While the numbers coming through the education sector do need to increase, this won’t resolve the underlying issues unless the system and culture is transformed to enable a greater level of skills development.”

The transformation plan outlines 10 actions that are required to address the issues in the tech skills pipeline. You can read the full list of actions here.  Most of the actions identified aren’t things employers can influence directly.

One key action that employers can tackle head-on is providing employment opportunities for people in their first 2 years of employment.

What is the Digital Tech Industry Transformation Plan?

“In June 2019, the Government launched its Industry Strategy, outlining its approach to growing strong and innovative industries in New Zealand. At the core of the Industry Strategy is the development of Industry Transformation Plans (ITP) for selected sectors of the economy, where there are opportunities to lift productivity and growth or where significant transition is required. ITPs are long term plans developed in partnership with Government and industry, articulating a vision and an action plan for a sector.

The development of the Skills Plan of the ITP has been overseen by a Steering Group under the guidance of IT Professionals NZ, the professional body of New Zealand’s digital tech profession. With input from hundreds of individuals and organisations, the Steering Group has taken a strong evidential approach; ensuring that all assumptions were tested thoroughly and all work based on statistics and evidence. The outcome is clear. Together, New Zealand’s Government, Industry and Education sector can create a digital sector with a more streamlined and inclusive system of industry-aligned education and skills pathways, that addresses every stage of the pipeline from school to senior professionals.”

The role of internships

According to the report, “Internships are important, but poorly supported. Internships such as the popular Summer of Tech programme provide a crucial bridge between study and industry.

However, these don’t receive the level of support they need; often only a small proportion of students who apply are able to receive internships within the industry. There are a number of reasons for the lack of industry support for internships, including a perception that it’s too hard to take on interns, that it’s too expensive (in time and money).”

But are those perceptions correct?

An Employer’s perspective

At TASKA, maker of ‘bionic’ hands, internships are a key part of their talent acquisition strategy. David Lovegrove, Head of Design shared his reflections on the past two years hiring interns with Summer of Tech.

“TASKA has been part of Summer of Tech for the past 2 years, this is our 3rd year.

In 2020, we had two interns join us and work on developing a test rig for testing our hands - with support and mentoring from our team.

In 2021 we had lots of mini projects that supported our main product development effort. We hired 4 interns to work on specific components and processes. The interns provided additional horsepower at a critical stage of our product development.”

Reflective of the company’s supportive culture, the team is totally onboard and willing to support the interns. David emphasises the importance of setting interns up for success:

“At TASKA, interns go through a structured induction and are assigned a mentor - usually a mid to senior level designer or engineer who checks in every day and is available for questions and support.”

Where are these interns now?

“Of the 6 interns we’ve had work with us, we’ve hired 3 into full-time roles. There’s nothing quite like seeing how someone works to give you a clear idea of where they can add the most value. Its equally satisfying being able to help talented students blossom in our environment and start their career in design and engineering”

Where to find great tech interns

Right now at Summer of Tech, there are 973 candidates available for a summer internship and 610 candidates available for full-time roles. Candidates have skills in everything from graphic design and marketing automation to machine learning and front-end web frameworks.

Head over to www.summeroftech.co.nz/employers for more information.

Intern-curious?

Get in touch today to explore how a Summer of Tech intern could add value to your business hello@summeroftech.co.nz.