Interning in a company is a common practice in Quebec that is not only useful for students or recent graduates, it is also a valuable tool to help newcomers with professional experience integrate into a work environment.
An internship that helps people overcome challenges
Even if they’ve acquired professional experience in their home country, newcomers are faced with a major challenge when they arrive in Quebec: getting initial work experience in their sector of activity. It can be a difficult process because they often lack a network of professional contacts and finding a job in Quebec often involves these networks.
Fortunately, there are many networking and immersion activities available, including internships, that put companies into contact with newcomers. These are great opportunities for the newcomer to build their first network of professional contacts.
The internship, which is generally unpaid and temporary, allows the newcomer to:
- Get professional experience in their sector
- Become familiar with the work environment in Quebec
- Get references from a local company
- Start to build their professional network of contacts
An internship that relaunches careers
Some internships are available directly through companies while others are part of a program overseen by organizations that put candidates in contact with companies. For instance, the Interconnection team assesses the newcomer’s professional profile and pairs them with the right company.
Professionals and companies from a variety of sectors participate in the program. Organizations in industries such as technology, communications and marketing, administration, human resources, business development, international trade, and finance.
Taking part in this internship can sometimes lead to a job in that same company, but it is especially useful for making it easier for the immigrant to find a job after their internship. At the end of the internship, 50% of participants return to work in their sector of activity and 15% decide to go back to school because the program helped them find out what kind of training they need to access more jobs.
In all cases, participants say they’ve learned a lot from the internship and that it helped them relaunch their career.
“The internship was the starting point for me. It was huge in that it helped me gain local experience and allowed me to add content on my resume that probably helped my candidacy. It opened a lot of doors.”
About Interconnection
The Interconnection team can support you in your job search!
The internship for newcomers is one of the free activities created by the Interconnection program. Since 2010, more than 2,500 participants have taken part in internships in 1,100 companies that want to help immigrants integrate into the Quebec workplace.
Sign up now to take advantage of this free program or contact Angie Mirghaderi, Interconnection program advisor, at 514 871-4000, ext. 4202, or at amirghaderi@ccmm.ca.
More information on the Interconnection program
Watch testimonies from participants