Unioil, one of FEU – East Asia College's Industry Partners, has and is currently offering internships to our student body, and the company has a lot of praise for the iTamaraws they recruit. The Innovator got a chance to interview Human Resources Officer David Persival Flores to find out more details about internships and on-the-job training in the real world.
How do you choose your ideal candidates for internship positions?
"There are two major factors. The first is that they see if the candidate can "culturally" fit in. This means that he/ she not only must have a skill set, but he/she must also fit in with the culture of the different departments in Unioil. The second factor is that our interns must be ready and willing to learn. They have to be open to new information."
How does the company train its interns for a career?
"I think that they get to be exposed to what it's really like in the corporate world. They get to experience every – thing, and they get to develop the kind of attitude right for a corporate environment. We never treat them as interns. We treat them like real employees."
What does your company hope to achieve from its internship program.
"This is not the usual on- the- job training where students are just asked to do menial tasks, like photocopy things. When we say "on- the-job" training, we really mean "on -the-job" training. They'll also find out whether this kind of work is right for them."
What can you say about interns from FEU East Asia?
"I really commend them. They're very professional. They already have the necessary skills. They have the kind of personality that we really want to have in an office. Very magaling! Just plug-and-play."
The Innovator didn't stop there. We took some time to see what interns do at Unioil. It turns out that it really is like having a real world job. The interns engage in marketing by developing AVPs, working with a hired production team, enhancing the company's website, and creating collaterals, banners, and flyers. Yeah, it's definitely no "get coffee" or "make photocopies" kind of on-the-job-training you find elsewhere. The same is true for most of the experiences our students have had with their intern-ships. They really do work in the real world!
WORDS: ANGELA FRANCES NILO AND FRANCIS FITZGERALD INTAL
INTERVIEW: ANGELA FRANCES NILO
PHOTOS: ABRAHAM FELIX