The list of benefits that internships can provide to students is long. Students can gain practical skills, build networks, increase their confidence in a work environment, develop a clearer understanding of career paths, and in some cases, they can open the door to a job opportunity.

Just ask current Manitoba Construction Sector Council (MCSC) interns Manish Sadhu, an International Business Post-Graduate Diploma student from Red River College Polytechnic, and Hong Zheng, a Business Administrative Assistant student from Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology. They’re both extremely excited about the opportunities that they’re getting with the organization, each for their own reasons.

“The internship has been very positive for me,” said Zheng. “When you leave school, it can be hard to find a full-time job. The MCSC has given me lots of experience, and some relationships too, which will make it easier for me to find a job.”

“I’m excited to know more about the construction sector,” added Sadhu, who had just started his internship. “I want to work towards being a project coordinator because I have a background in engineering. I’m really hoping to interact with different construction industries and companies and increase my reach and experience here.”

Internships are equally important for the organizations who host those students, too.

MCSC sees internships as integral opportunities to grow the construction industry, whether through apprentices on the tools or interns who work on the business side of the construction trades. Internships not only bring new workers into the industry, but those workers also bring fresh ideas to the workplace that help the industry develop.

That’s why MCSC is constantly encouraging construction companies to welcome interns into their organizations, and they walk the walk by regularly integrating interns into their own workplace. For years, the organization has been welcoming primarily Business Administration and International Business students from the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology and Red River College Polytechnic.

Ramir Diaz, MCSC’s Education and Training Manager, has been with the organization for five years. He’s seen at least two interns join MCSC each year, and he and the team of staff ensure they aren’t simply there to push paper.

“We try to expose the interns to what we do,” said Diaz. “We bring them out to the community; we show them the behind-the-scenes of our organization. They’ve helped us design surveys, learning management systems, and more.”

MCSC genuinely wants to see Zheng, Sadhu, and each intern that comes through their doors succeed, and they do everything they can to make that happen. That effort has paid off for both the students and the organization. MCSC’s current office assistant, Harleen Kaur, is a former intern, as have been other past employees.

“Through these internships, students gain networking with each other,” added Diaz. “We also encourage them to attend events that we have in-house or in the community. That could be career fairs, presentations, or training programs that we facilitate, all of which allow them to network with the industry. We really try to support our interns as much as we can by helping them find employment during their internship, and we follow up with them after they’ve done their term with us too.”

That kind of care and attention for interns sets an example that all construction companies can follow. Like interns, organizations get out of internships what they put into them, and investing time in eager and motivated students the way that the MCSC does can bring development both within organizations and across the industry.