A new regular Voice opportunities column
Check the News and Events section for new listings every two weeks
Internships, Apprenticeships, and Co-ops. As a student you have probably heard these words and various others like them thrown around, but do you really know what they mean and more importantly do you know how to get them? If you answered no to any portion of this question you should definitely keep reading because these words refer to different types of student work experiences that can be very valuable to you in obtaining the career you want.
First, the term apprenticeship refers to the situation where a skilled tradesperson takes on an apprentice and teaches him/her the trade. The apprentice is usually paid and accompanies the tradesperson on his/her daily work in order to learn the trade. Sometimes an apprenticeship is offered as a program by a college in which case the student usually alternates classroom studies with work experience for several months or years. Apprenticeships are commonly found in trades such as carpentry, hairdressing, horticulture and plumbing.
Second, the co-op or cooperative education placement refers to the situation where a student works for a company in order to gain experience and academic credit. There are some degrees that require you to complete a co-op in order to graduate and some co-op positions will only accept applicants in this type of degree.
Finally, internships refer to the situation where a student works in an entry level position relevant to his/her educational program in order to gain work experience. There are two types of internships commonly offered. One is offered to new graduates and the other is available to students who are still completing their educational program. Internships can also vary widely it terms of pay and length. An internship could be 4 months long and offer no pay at all or it could be 6 months long and offer an attractive wage. Numerous companies and government agencies already offer internships but many internships have been started as a result of a student inquiring about or suggesting one. So don’t be afraid to contact companies and ask them about internships or ask if they would be willing to take on an intern if they don’t have a program already set up.
Hopefully this information on student work experience options has been helpful to you and has given you enough background information to prepare you for your weekly reading of the new Voice column called “Searching for Internships.” This bi-weekly column will provide you with information about internship opportunities that are currently available to students. In order to give you a taste of what is to come I have decided to open this week’s column with an internship with The Toronto Star for my fellow writers.
The Toronto Star offers three internship programs: the summer program, the radio room and the youth employment program.
The Summer Program
Position Description: Reporter or photographer.
Pay: Yes, Guild Scale.
Eligibility Requirements: Current university or college students or recent university or college graduates.
Time and Length of Position: Mid May to mid September.
How to Apply: Interviews are done in January so it’s too late too apply for this summer but it is a good time to start thinking about and getting ready to apply for next summer.
The Radio Room
Position Description: Research Position. Collecting information for news stories by monitoring emergency radio frequencies, monitoring television news stories, answering phones and doing police checks. The position also involves providing support to the news room and some writing.
Pay: Yes, Guild Scale.
Eligibility Requirements: Must be a college or university student in the Greater Toronto Area (some exceptions may be made in the summer).
Time and Length of Position: They hire 16 people to work from mid September to mid May for one or two shifts a week. They hire 7 people to work from mid May to mid September in a full time position.
How to Apply: The deadline to apply for the position beginning in mid September is the end of July 2004. The positions for the 2004 summer position beginning in mid May are already filled so you may want to start thinking about applying for one of the 2004 Fall positions or a 2005 summer position.
The Youth Employment Program
Position Description: Formal internship program mixing education and work experience. Positions available are writers, copy editors and a photographer. The program consists of a two week orientation period, several full day seminars and work experience in three different departments.
Pay: Yes.
Eligibility Requirements: Available to people under 30 years of age who have never worked full time at a daily newspaper.
Time and Length of Position: One year long. Full time. Starts in mid September.
How to Apply: Deadline for Fall 2004 is July 9, 2004.
Contact Info for all three positions:
You must send three copies of the following package: cover letter, resume, 3 references, and a minimum of 6 and maximum of 10 selections of published clippings (no opinion pieces). Send the packages to:
Sharon Burnside
AME, Training and Personnel
The Toronto Star
1 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E6
Photojournalists must submit a portfolio, preferably on a MAC compatible CD, to:
Neil Ballantyne
Photo Editor
The Toronto Star
1 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E6
For more information on The Toronto Star and these positions please visit their website at http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Render&c=Page&cid=995369321419. I would highly recommend that you visit this website if you are going to apply for one of the positions. It is always important to be knowledgeable about the employer you want to work for.
