WORK experience or cheap labour? Graduates in Myanmar are weighing the costs and benefits of internship – taking a temporary entry-level position in the industry of their choice that might pay them little or nothing.

An internship is a way of getting round the old dilemma facing young people who enter the workforce for the first time. They can’t get a job without experience. But how do you gain experience without getting a job?

“There are three levels of internship candidates – high school, graduate and postgraduate. The advantage to the employer is that they can get cheap or free staff because the candidates are unpaid or only partially paid. Sometimes the candidates even have to pay internship tuition fees. But some candidates really need internships, and there can be advantages for both sides,” said economist U Khin Maung Nyo, the chief editor of these Yangon-based World Economic Journal.

“Sometimes the company might not have much of a plan – they just want free staff to do the dirty work. Interns who go to work for a company like that won’t be allowed to learn too much about the company, or do any sensitive work for it. The work experience they gain is going to be very limited,” said U Khin Maung Nyo.

Most internship programs are too short-term to teach much in the way of work skills, and some companies find that the extra work entailed by taking in untrained workers to be burdensome. But the company may benefit from new ideas brought in by youthful interns, he said.

“I organised a three-month internship program at Myanmar Credent Company in September. I worked as an intern myself when I graduated from Rangoon Institute of Technology. There are also programs in foreign organisations. There are advantages on both sides. Candidates get experience as employees in a real work environment, and exposure to technological knowledge. Because the programs are short, students can intern during their school vacation months. It makes students less afraid of subjects they would otherwise know only theoretically,” said U Zaw Naing of Myanmar Credent.

“I’ve selected five intern candidates. They really want to put their academic knowledge to work and I have arranged office space and mentors for them to meet once a week. I pay them 30-40 percent of staff salary. During the three-month internship period I will monitor their performance and decide whether they should continue or not. I get fresh ideas from them, so I let them to talk freely in meetings,” he said.

Ei Mon Aung, 24, with a master’s from the University of Computer Science, Yangon, is working as an intern in sales. She said: “This is my first job. I applied for lots of jobs, but they would always ask me about work experience. So I decided to work as an intern to get real-life experience, including working with the public.”