How internships are the in thing in Indian corporate, tech jobs
Companies are warming up in a big way to hire interns as the need for skilled candidates increases amidst the changing technology landscape in jobs. Data from job portal Indeed suggests a 103 per cent increase in job postings over the past three years, between February 2022 and February 2025. Last year alone, internship postings jumped by 23 per cent.
S. Pasupathi, COO at recruitment and assessment platform HirePro, says one of the reasons for the spurt is the considerable push from the government to hire interns. Besides, companies are able to avoid the intense industry competition to pick top college talent by engaging with students in their third year, giving them internship positions, followed by a pre-placement. This also helps companies engage with talent very early on and evaluate them through the internship process before making a final hire.
Earlier, internships were common in non-technology companies such as manufacturing, where the practice of apprenticeship is very common, as also sectors such as auto, hospitality and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods). Pasupathi says the difference now is that more technology companies are opening up for internship programmes. Initially, he adds, tech firms weren’t very open to interns as these companies work with sensitive data and software.
Firms such as Goldman Sachs, Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Microsoft and Intel are popular for their evolved internship programmes. “Internships require a lot more commitment and investment from firms as they can be time- and resource-intensive,” says Pasupathi, explaining that firms need to develop a structured programme for training, dedicate a resource to oversee them, and also identify projects to be given to the candidates. Internships are also beneficial for candidates as they get industry experience and can better understand their calling.