AIESEC present at the discussion on Quality Internships at the EU Parliament
What is a good-quality internship? Should internships be unpaid? How can an intern’s contribution be valued within the company where they work?
These were some of the questions raised during the panel discussion that took place at the EU Parliament in the heart of Brussels. Hosted by the European Youth Forum and Microsoft Europe, the event aimed to share views on the topic of quality internships with European employers, European institutions and interns themselves.
With a vast amount of internships in Europe lacking learning content, payment and any quality criteria that could enable a young person to benefit professionally from their first experience in the world of work, AIESEC came as an example to follow and a strong ally of existing partners.
Sylvie Laffarge, Director at Microsoft praised the hassle saved by recruiting interns through AIESEC regarding visa issues and working permits. She coined the cooperation as “priceless”.
Also speaking at the event was an AIESEC intern, now working at JA-YE Europe and originally from AIESEC Romania: Diana Draganescu who spoke about the confidence needed as a young graduate to enter the labour market. She emphasized the need to start supporting more consistent organisations such as AIESEC to facilitate the process of young people getting internships around the world.
This was followed by several comments from the audience, mostly from youth currently interning at the EU institutions – who complained about the lack of clear rules and regulations regarding interns.
The EU is currently working on a Charter on Internships and Apprenticeships and hopes to get it signed and approved in the near future.
In the meantime, AIESEC showcased its good-case practices successfully and aims to set itself as a reliable provider of high quality interns and internships.
