Students in Dunedin are preparing to secure a summer internship and possibly a career.
Igtimi Limited managing director Kylie Robinson said her central Dunedin company, which specialises in GPS telemetry and communication solutions for the elite sports industry, has employed five staff from the annual Enterprise Dunedin summer internship programme.
‘‘It’s a really good way of keeping local talent rather than losing them to some of the bigger firms.’’
Each year since the programme’s inception in 2009, students and employers met at an event in Dunedin, which allowed an opportunity for them to talk for seven minutes.
Hiring staff could be ‘‘tricky’’ for smaller businesses because many bigger firms approached students before they graduated, Ms Robinson said.
The programme levelled the playing field for smaller companies, she said.
An internship was a way to reveal a student’s skill level and if they would fit with the culture of the business, she said.
Igtimi Limited software engineer Adam Sherlaw, of Dunedin, said he completed a two-month internship at Igitimi after finishing studies at the University of Otago.
He has been working at Igtimi for more than three years.
Seven minutes for the ‘‘speed dates’’ at the events was ‘‘plenty long enough’’ to ‘‘sell yourself’’ to an employer, he said.
‘‘It’s amazing what you can get across in seven minutes.’’
Enterprise Dunedin business development adviser Chanel O’Brien said the objective of the programme was ‘‘to meet
usiness needs, create high value jobs, retain skills and talent in the city and contribute to the economic growth of Dunedin’’.
★ The ‘‘speed interviews’’ this year will be held at The Hub in the Otago Polytechnic on September 19.
