Summer internships a must for young people looking to be work ready Leena Thomas, 22, is reaping the benefits of doing a 10-week internship at the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney. She is now employed in the company's HR department. Picture: Tim Hunter. TENS of thousands of young people desperate to get a toehold in the jobs market will be dodging the beach this summer to instead sit behind a desk. The lucky ones will be working for about $20 an hour, but most will be donating their time for free in an effort to get some valuable experience on their resume. Welcome to the growing world of the summer internship, where bosses engage in a spot of window shopping to ensure they hire the thoroughbreds and cut the lemons. With the unemployment rate for 15-24-year-olds at 13 per cent - the highest level since 2002 - the traditional summer bludgefest has been replaced by stints at some of the country's biggest employers. Studentinternships.com.au managing director Andrew Maloney said since his site started four years ago they have seen about 24 per cent yearly increase per year in internship offers from employers. There has been massive growth. The only internships ten years ago would've been in very specific industries like PR and magazine publishing," he said. Last year we were averaging 20,000 visits per month. Now we are heading to 40,000 visits. (Summer internships) are much bigger in the US and we are following that model more and more. The Fair Work Ombudsman's Experience or Exploitation report, released earlier this year, focused on the "increase in precarious forms of work," of which they said internships form a large part. Companies that have paid internships include the Commonwealth Bank and Google. Google's program was popularised in the 2013 film The Internship starring Owen Wilson and Aussie actor Rose Byrne. Mr Maloney said for every paid internship there is at least ten that are unpaid. He advertises at least 2000 paid undergraduate internships per year, which he estimates is about 70 per cent of the Australian market. "A lot of these (interns) will nick off for a week to Bali or something during the week between Christmas and New Year," Mr Maloney said. There are big rewards in these programs and the students are smart enough to realise that a couple of days at the beach over summer is not much compared to a career with a leading global company. Now is not the time to hit the beach. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry employment director Jenny Lambert said internships are becoming more popular both within and outside university courses. "Internships that are built into a course are so valuable as they help the students become work ready, improving important employability skills such as working in teams, interpersonal skills, communication skills, as well as giving them real world experience in applying technical skills," she said. Universities, students and employers all see the value in improving work integrating learning opportunities for students and stakeholders are working on a range of strategies to try and reduce the barriers. For employers, a key benefit is the opportunity to assess potential employees and to address particular projects or outcomes that are beneficial to the employer and the student's study. Leena Thomas spent two months doing a paid internship at the Commonwealth Bank between the 2011-2012 summer. The Chipping Norton resident now has a job in the bank's human resources department. "Summer internships are now very common among people looking for a job," the 22-year-old said. The visibility of these programs has increased over the years through university career expos and students have come to understand how valuable summer internships are for gaining exposure in their chosen field of study. If I was to offer advice I'd say don't be afraid to try new things, because if there is one thing I have learnt, it is that you don't have to be locked into any one career path. You can have multiple interests and you can change your career path accordingly - you just need to believe in your abilities and take hold of those opportunities with both hands. Focus, work hard and your efforts will be noticed.