At GESS, internships are compulsory in Grade 9. All students spend one to two weeks in a company of their choice. This year, GESS was able to successfully support many students in their search for an internship through the BeyondClassrooms programme as well as in other supporting companies.
For most of our students, this is the first time they encounter the world of work, getting their initial insights into the working world. They had an opportunity to see and learn what everyday working life is like, what tasks and activities are involved in different professions, and what are the demands on the workforce. Through these internships, GESS aims to help them get to know their strengths and weaknesses better, and to find out which skills are particularly in demand in certain professions. During the internship, their social skills are also strengthened through interaction with colleagues. Above all, the internships serve as an orientation aid for their future. The students can get a realistic idea of whether a certain profession is suitable for them. This experience will certainly be useful when they come to making a decision later, be it to join the workforce or choose a subject to study.
So much for the theory, but what about the practice? Do our students really benefit from the offer?
During the internship, students are paid a visit by their teachers to find out about the conditions on site and to talk to the students about their experiences. At Invitrocue, we were impressed by a PowerPoint presentation confidently delivered by three students about the treatment options for cancer in Singapore. Volocopter had put together an exciting programme where our students got to know the different departments from Human Resources and Marketing to Sales. At BluCurrent, our students got hands-on with fish farming, such as being responsible for assigned fish tanks, feeding and studying the animal.
Most interesting, however, were the conversations we were able to have with them. One student, who had always been interested in human resources, told us that she found marketing much more exciting after the internship. For another, it was clear that he would not want to work in finance. However, everyone agreed that it was a great experience and that they went back to school with many new impressions. With this feedback, we say TOP to future internships for the 9th graders! Last but not least, we thank all the companies that accepted our students and gave them great insights into their working world during the two weeks.
