As the world economy becomes more global, companies are trying to find ways to exchange products, services, information and people across borders. This is especially true during the summer, when companies double their number of interns and apprentices to fill in while permanent staff take their holidays. In order to implement these teamwork changes, managers will have to take into consideration and plan for the time required to teach these new interns the proper use of software and other work-related practices.

More often than not, interns have a vision of a workplace that is strongly influenced by perceptions formed in universities and colleges and may not necessarily match the reality of a work environment. Therefore it is equally important to not only explain the internal operations of the company but also to coach them in creating and building inter-personal relationships with their new colleagues. Nevertheless, such investment may be dismissed quickly, as managers often think that, as interns will not be around for long, there is not much point in investing too much time in their training. Furthermore, it becomes more complicated if apprentices happen to be foreigners and therefore supervisors have the additional task of overcoming the communication barrier due to different languages.

However, all these challenges can be turned into advantages by making the most of the productive partnership between different countries, entities and, moreover, people. Needless to say, taking on an intern can cost companies far less than hiring someone who has a lot of experience in that field of work and, in addition, having a trainee on placement means return on investments through the subsidies and schemes that governments offer.

Yet recruiting foreign interns has not only economic benefits, but also social and business opportunities in terms of work. Apprentices are often young and enthusiastic individuals who are willing to learn and gain work experience. They listen and try to learn everything that their supervisors have to teach them and they do not have to end up doing simple jobs such as photocopying or running errands. They do not mind doing these things, but only as part of the normal routine that the work offers. It is extremely gratifying to be part of the developing process of an organisation by taking part in its main objectives. That is the satisfaction that the writer personally feels by designing the artwork for the Foundation or helping with the creation of the logo.

Interns will probably expect to have a chance to prove their abilities and therefore will welcome the opportunity of working alongside professionals and learning from them. John Micallef Moreno, Director at HR Matters, pointed out the relevance of motivation as the engine for this workforce: “We have proved that if we give them a chance to work freely, they will succeed and they will gain more confidence to improve their skills”. HR Matters has been hiring foreign interns for years and it also helps other companies to recruit them.

As far as social skills are concerned, hiring foreign interns is a perfect opportunity to promote international understanding. It is accepted that working to meet a common set of goals requires perseverance, communication and adaptability, but achieving teamwork objectives in an international context demands all of these, as well as creative problem solving. This is the environment in which the team at The Palace Hotel, Malta works, as all their trainees are foreigners – 20 of them at the moment. “It is worth having these apprentices because we are giving them the opportunity to improve but in the meantime we are also learning from their engagement and willingness”, said the hotel’s PR manager Romina Pace.

Given that people are the main resource for companies, foreign interns can be the spice that globalisation has to offer. Enterprises whose interns come from different backgrounds are more likely to gain from their knowledge of the most current trends in their home countries. Nowadays, students’ skills are ranked according to their experience gained from working in different organisations, but there could be a time when companies will realise that engaging a diverse workforce and hiring foreign interns is an important way of enriching the experience of their own permanent workforce and achieving business success.

Angel Luis Martinez Cantera is a Spanish journalist at the Foundation for Human Resources Development