English plus Unpaid Internship

The St Giles English plus Internship Programme is designed to give students the opportunity to practise and improve their English both inside the classroom and in a professional environment. Through combining an English course at one of our four UK colleges with a period spent in a UK-based company, students are able to meet native speakers and put their English skills to practical use, whilst increasing their awareness and understanding of British and international business culture.

Students must have at least an intermediate level of English to be eligible for the programme.

Course Structure

Students start by taking one of our English courses for a minimum of 4 weeks, followed by an internship for a minimum of 4 weeks. The course is finished with a further 2 weeks' s tudy on one of our English courses. The minimum total programme length is 10 weeks. There is no maximum internship length, although very few students take internships of longer than 6 months. Arrangements may be made for internships longer than 6 months if required.

Internships for non-EU students are offered as a "sandwich course" between students' English studies, and students must complete the Cambridge Certificate of Work Experience upon completion of the internship. For EU students, the Cambridge Certificate is optional.

There is no typical internship. However, there are certain patterns to the internship, which depend on the length of the internship, the student's abilities and level of English. All students will fulfil typical daily duties such as computer data entry or photocopying. However, students taking longer internships can expect to have their own responsibilities and in some cases their own project(s) to work on. Most companies prefer students to stay with them for 2-3 months, in order for them to gain maximum benefit from their company.

All of our internships are unpaid, but some companies do contribute to students' lunch or travel costs. This is at their manager's discretion.

Possible Internships

We have placed students in the following industries and fields:

NB - all placements are subject to availability.

The Cambridge Certificate of Work Experience

Students take the Cambridge Certificate of Work Experience (standard level) during their internship. The Certificate covers four skills areas:

• English language skills
• Computer skills
• Interpersonal skills
• General office skills

Each student compiles a report during their internship, which covers all four skills areas. Their manager will also write a short report, which is taken into account when awarding the certificate. The student's work will be evaluated at the end of the internship, and the certificate will then be forwarded to the student.

Applying for the Programme

Our internships are carefully selected according to student's interests, qualifications and any previous professional experience. When applying for the programme, we ask students to specify 3 fields they would like to take their internship in. We will endeavour to place students in their first choice field, but we unfortunately cannot guarantee to do so, as all internships are subject to availability. Students do, therefore, need to be flexible with regard to the internship element of the course, and appreciate that they will benefit from taking an internship even if it is not in their first choice of field.

Students should complete the special English plus Internship enrolment form and send it to the college of their choice, together with an up-to-date copy of their Curriculum Vitae and a covering letter. We should receive this at least 4 weeks before the course start date and/or 8 weeks before the internship start date. The Curriculum Vitae should include details about the student's previous education and professional experience (where relevant). The covering letter should outline the student's interests and reasons for applying for an internship.

Internships are usually offered to students aged between 18-30, although we may be able to place students older than 30, depending on their personal circumstances.

We accept applications for the programme throughout the year.

English plus Paid Internship

Aim of the Programme

The St Giles English plus Paid Internship Programme is designed to give students the opportunity to practise and improve their English both inside the classroom and in the workplace. Through combining an English course at one of our four UK colleges with a period spent working for a company in the leisure industry, students are able to meet native speakers and put their English skills to practical use, whilst earning money.

Course Requirements

To qualify for this programme, students must be aged 18 - 30 and should be EEA citizens. They should also have Intermediate English or above and some relevant work experience.

Course Structure

Students first take one of our English courses for a minimum of 4 weeks, followed by a work placement for a minimum of 3 months and maximum 12 months.

Work Placements

Typical work placements are in hotels, restaurants or holiday parks doing routine work such as:

• Waiter or waitress
• Room cleaning
• Kitchen porter
• Bar work

Work placements are based all over the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Channel Islands. Although personal preferences will be noted, students must be prepared to be placed anywhere in these regions.

The employer will provide accommodation and food during the work placement for a nominal fee (no more than £40 per week).

Students will receive at least the minimum wage of:

• GBP 5.05 per hour for those aged 22+
• GBP 4.25 per hour for those aged 21 and under

The National Insurance deductions plus tax will be taken from the gross earnings. Students will work on average between 30 and 40 hours per week.

Applying for the Programme

Our work placements are carefully selected from a variety of companies and locations according to the student's interests, qualifications and previous work experience. When applying for the programme, we ask students to specify two jobs they would like to take their placement in. We will endeavour to place students in their first choice job, but we unfortunately cannot guarantee to do so, as all placements are subject to availability. In addition, some placements will involve a variety of jobs. Students do, therefore, need to be flexible with regard to the work placement element of the course, and appreciate that they will benefit from taking a work placement even if it is not in their first choice.

Students should complete the dedicated English plus Paid Internship enrolment form and send it to the college where they want to study, together with an up-to-date copy of their Curriculum Vitae (CV) and two photographs (one face photograph and one full body photograph). We should receive this at least 8 weeks before the course start date, and 12 weeks before the placement start date. The Curriculum Vitae should include details about the student's previous education and work experience. After the application is made students will have a telephone interview to assess their English level and suitability for the programme.

We accept applications for the programme throughout the year, subject to availability. However, most employers like students to begin the work placement in March, May, June or the end of November/early December. Equally most employers do not like students to finish their work placements during these periods. Students should therefore bear this in mind when applying for the programme.