Internship vs. Externship...are they so different?

As we continue to move our company forward in the way we think, hold people accountable and train we have been challenged with two "big apples" as we call them around here; creating an Externship Program and updating the current Hourly Supervisor Program (Internship).

We started a conversation yesterday within our four walls about the possibility of the Internship Program and where we stand on it, how to move it forward, and how to solidify the plan. As we got further into the discussion, I realized that our current program for internal hourlys could easily be mirrored after the Externship Prgram we are further ahead on.

So, the question still stands, how do you effectively run an Internship and Externship without being too heavy on hands-on vs. projects vs. daily tasks??

As we continue to evolve in the restaurant industry our methods of educating and partnering with people are constantly changing, shifting and being challenged. How do we create a balance that doesn't over burden our daily operators who are shouldered with the task of developing the next generation of restaurant bench strength??

Tags: Development, Externship, Human, Internship, Resources, Training

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Non-OperatorPermalink Reply by Matt Smith on March 10, 2008 at 9:02am

Amanda-

I used to work at a hospitality school and these two words were constant sources of stress for both the restaurant companies and the college students as no one has the same definition or guidelines for a program....especially not the educational institutions and corporations. 1/2 the time we spent was figuring out how the programs mesh. One thing we did find was that if a company can simply to one program that is a comprehensive MIT type program, with a formal structure, but some room for open project based work that company had the highest conversion rate of students into employees/managers and they also stayed with that company longer.

At People Report, we have noted that colleges are essentially under utilized as a recruitment tool, we don't see education past an associates degree as a norm yet. The standard career day/job fairs that restaurant operators attend aren't the best way to get the younger population engaged, you need to integrate with the campus, get faculty excited and make your brand a part of the educational experience.

A great resource for these types of programs is the Johnson & Wales system. They have been doing career education the longest of almost any university and their Dean of Experiential Education, Greg Lorenz (glorenz@jwu.edu) is a true expert at working with companies to design/refine the right programs.

Permalink Reply by Amanda Vroom on March 10, 2008 at 10:16am

Matt-

Thanks for the suggestion of Johnson & Wales, ironically we are already in process of trying to schedule a meeting with them. Thanks for the contact! I will pass it along to the right people.

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