Firms benefit from interns
DALLAS — A 10-week internship with Fidelity Investments introduced Veronica Bastanova to the professional world in the summer before her graduation from the University of North Texas.
She studied for a degree in computer information systems, and the internship in Westlake, Texas, offered experience in technology and interpersonal skills.
For Bastanova, 26, the internship paid off. She went to work full time for Fidelity in 2001 and is now a systems analyst in Boston.
Internships, though, represent an opportunity for more than just the student. Businesses benefit also, and companies are paying more attention to student programs as demand for technology workers increases.
Ideally, a company uses internships as one way to build a pipeline of new workers, said John Windsor, director of the Information Systems Research Center at UNT.
An economic downturn can interrupt the inflow. Information services workers often receive the first layoffs in tough times when managers trim areas they perceive as lacking bottom-line value, and companies bring in temporary workers or send jobs offshore, Windsor said.
But as the economy improves, employers try to convert temporary workers and contract hires into permanent employees. Similarly, employers also seek to develop or expand internship programs, called co-ops at UNT.
"I suspect we're at the front end of the cycle going back up," he said. "We're seeing more job availability and co-op availability. We really now can't produce all of the students the jobs call for.
"The longer the economy stays on the upswing, the stronger demand we'll get, and we may be chasing it for several years."
The demand to fill technology co-ops at the university in Denton, Texas, is increasing at about 2 percent or 3 percent annually, though it's down from 10 percent or greater growth at the peak of the tech boom, Windsor said.
The program's value is evident in the interest from area companies, said Sharon Allen, director of the Industrial Practice Programs for the University of Texas at Dallas' Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
"It's never been this busy for us in placing students and for employers asking for placements," said Allen, who has been with the program since 2004.
For the students, she said, internships allow them to pick up far more than technical skills.
"They're learning interpersonal skills and using those on the jobs, which is so important," Allen said. "They're really increasing their confidence level."
For the companies, the internships are considered pre-professional since the participating students still don't possess a degree.
"I don't think it's short-term, free labor," she said, explaining that companies invest more in training an intern than they will receive in direct benefits from the student's work.
"If we have an intern who does a good job, the company usually wants to hire that person," she said.
For Fidelity, a 10-week internship nearly always trumps the information gleaned during a job interview.
"Less and less do we hire people from just off the street," said Rob Butler, Fidelity's director of software development. "If we can't get someone who was an intern, we might bring someone in to work as a temp because it takes working with people for several weeks to see their technical skills."
The internship program has remained a consistent commitment for Fidelity, said Fran Eichorst, the company's southwest regional general manager and vice president of human resources.
