Interns: A Boon for Businesses
14 July 2014
Read by 2795 persons
41% of Moroccan businesses use interns.
The internship sector in Morocco is still not up to par with the standards and practices expected by interns and recruiters. This is what emerges from the results of the new edition of the first barometer carried out on the Moroccan internship market, jointly conducted by Stagiaires.ma and the BMarketing firm. Indeed, this study, which was carried out with a representative sample of 3,200 students who had completed at least one internship and 340 HR and non-HR managers, aimed to measure the evolution of the internship and intern sector in Morocco. It therefore emerges that the mismatch persists between the expectations of students and the needs of managers, in addition to the dissatisfaction of both parties.
Despite this, the sector has seen a slight increase in the intern recruitment rate. To this end, 41% of the companies surveyed say they have used interns. A slightly higher rate compared to 2013 where only 38% of companies had recruited interns. However, this timid increase contrasts sharply with the need for interns expressed by companies, which remains very high at 91% in 2014 compared to 84% for the previous year. Also, this hesitant attitude in terms of intern recruitment is explained by a number of difficulties that the companies surveyed say they face.
Thus, the quality of student profiles comes at the top of the list with 81%, followed by the difficulty related to the availability of students, as well as that related to the lack of knowledge of recruitment sources, with 60% and 39% respectively. For their part, the students surveyed mainly mention the difficulties related to the choice of company (81%) and the responsiveness of the latter (66%).
Furthermore, internship allowances remain the sector's weak point and a not very common practice. Thus, according to the study, only 42% of companies provide internship bonuses. This practice has seen a considerable increase compared to 2013, where this rate was 33.5%, but remains below expectations. This allowance is generally between 1,000 and 2,000 dirhams in more than 80% of cases. Companies that grant bonuses exceeding 3,000 dirhams represent only 11%, compared to 2% for those that give allowances between 2,100 and 3,000 dirhams.
As a result, satisfaction is still not there. Indeed, the satisfaction rate, both on the part of students and managers, generally tends towards the negative. Overall, more than half of the students surveyed say they are dissatisfied with their internship. The same goes for managers.
This dissatisfaction is a corollary of the mismatch between the needs expressed by students in terms of internships and the expectations of managers in terms of profile quality and profitability, among other things. On another register, this situation, even if it can be attributed to a probable lack of communication, could mean that more efforts must be made to adapt the training provided at school to the multiple and evolving demands of the job market.
The gap between supply and demand is widening
The results of the survey show a mismatch between the sectors most requested by students seeking an internship and the departments for which companies need interns the most. While internship applications from students mainly concern the IT sector (21%), marketing and communication (19%), and HR (18%), companies are mainly looking for sales representatives (57%) and IT professionals (39%).
Next come the finance and management sectors, as well as marketing and communication, with 31% and 28% respectively. This gap is also noticeable in the duration of the internship. 21% of the companies surveyed wish to offer long-term internships (6 months or more), while only 4% of students wish to carry out internships of such duration.
The average duration of internships sought by students is between 2 and 4 months for more than 70%, while on the managers' side, the desired internship duration is between 4 and 6 months at 58%.
Internet, an inexhaustible source of recruitment
While 29.2% of companies used the Internet to recruit interns in 2013, the companies that used interns in 2014 via the Internet represent 43%, an increase of more than 13%. Nevertheless, internal "CV libraries" and schools remain the main sources of intern recruitment, with 59% and 45% respectively. The same observation can be made on the students' side: the Internet is used at 40%, compared to 35.6% for the previous year, even if schools remain the main means of finding an internship (63%). Furthermore, with 32% each, unsolicited applications and personal or professional networks are also means used by students in their internship search. Print media, for its part, continues its decline with only 1% compared to 3.8% in 2013.
Aujourdhui.ma
Posted online on July 14, 2014.
The internship sector in Morocco is still not up to par with the standards and practices expected by interns and recruiters. This is what emerges from the results of the new edition of the first barometer carried out on the Moroccan internship market, jointly conducted by Stagiaires.ma and the BMarketing firm. Indeed, this study, which was carried out with a representative sample of 3,200 students who had completed at least one internship and 340 HR and non-HR managers, aimed to measure the evolution of the internship and intern sector in Morocco. It therefore emerges that the mismatch persists between the expectations of students and the needs of managers, in addition to the dissatisfaction of both parties.
Despite this, the sector has seen a slight increase in the intern recruitment rate. To this end, 41% of the companies surveyed say they have used interns. A slightly higher rate compared to 2013 where only 38% of companies had recruited interns. However, this timid increase contrasts sharply with the need for interns expressed by companies, which remains very high at 91% in 2014 compared to 84% for the previous year. Also, this hesitant attitude in terms of intern recruitment is explained by a number of difficulties that the companies surveyed say they face.
Thus, the quality of student profiles comes at the top of the list with 81%, followed by the difficulty related to the availability of students, as well as that related to the lack of knowledge of recruitment sources, with 60% and 39% respectively. For their part, the students surveyed mainly mention the difficulties related to the choice of company (81%) and the responsiveness of the latter (66%).
Furthermore, internship allowances remain the sector's weak point and a not very common practice. Thus, according to the study, only 42% of companies provide internship bonuses. This practice has seen a considerable increase compared to 2013, where this rate was 33.5%, but remains below expectations. This allowance is generally between 1,000 and 2,000 dirhams in more than 80% of cases. Companies that grant bonuses exceeding 3,000 dirhams represent only 11%, compared to 2% for those that give allowances between 2,100 and 3,000 dirhams.
As a result, satisfaction is still not there. Indeed, the satisfaction rate, both on the part of students and managers, generally tends towards the negative. Overall, more than half of the students surveyed say they are dissatisfied with their internship. The same goes for managers.
This dissatisfaction is a corollary of the mismatch between the needs expressed by students in terms of internships and the expectations of managers in terms of profile quality and profitability, among other things. On another register, this situation, even if it can be attributed to a probable lack of communication, could mean that more efforts must be made to adapt the training provided at school to the multiple and evolving demands of the job market.
The gap between supply and demand is widening
The results of the survey show a mismatch between the sectors most requested by students seeking an internship and the departments for which companies need interns the most. While internship applications from students mainly concern the IT sector (21%), marketing and communication (19%), and HR (18%), companies are mainly looking for sales representatives (57%) and IT professionals (39%).
Next come the finance and management sectors, as well as marketing and communication, with 31% and 28% respectively. This gap is also noticeable in the duration of the internship. 21% of the companies surveyed wish to offer long-term internships (6 months or more), while only 4% of students wish to carry out internships of such duration.
The average duration of internships sought by students is between 2 and 4 months for more than 70%, while on the managers' side, the desired internship duration is between 4 and 6 months at 58%.
Internet, an inexhaustible source of recruitment
While 29.2% of companies used the Internet to recruit interns in 2013, the companies that used interns in 2014 via the Internet represent 43%, an increase of more than 13%. Nevertheless, internal "CV libraries" and schools remain the main sources of intern recruitment, with 59% and 45% respectively. The same observation can be made on the students' side: the Internet is used at 40%, compared to 35.6% for the previous year, even if schools remain the main means of finding an internship (63%). Furthermore, with 32% each, unsolicited applications and personal or professional networks are also means used by students in their internship search. Print media, for its part, continues its decline with only 1% compared to 3.8% in 2013.
Aujourdhui.ma
Posted online on July 14, 2014.
