Alissa Facchinato, who is studying Travel & Tourism Management at Tralee Institute of Technology, believes the hands-on work part of the programme was a huge help
A dual study-intern programme allows you to do a semester in school and participate in work-based learning the next semester.
A major reason as to why I chose to continue my studies in Tourism at IT Tralee is because its undergraduate Travel and Tourism Management programme includes full-time practical work-based learning in a relevant industry.
The opportunity to study and complete an internship, especially in the tourism industry, will help you further along in your career. It lets you apply what you learned in the classroom directly in the field you want to work in.
New outlook
Once you step out of your comfort zone from the classroom to the workplace, you can see a new view of the place you are in. You get the student experience of going to class, coming back to your apartment, and hanging out in town. However, you also get a hands-on work experience of a place in town you normally would not have.
You get the academic framework from your in-class time and can apply it through your work placement. The internship part of your programme lets you experience the daily lives of the locals in your town. This may even lead to making friends outside of college and a greater sense of being apart of the community.
Work placement
If you complete a programme with a work-based learning semester, you will see the links between your studies and the workforce and how well they complement each other. This includes receiving the benefit of studying in a new country and experiencing the industry first hand. These work placement programs are important to connect and understand what you learned from your studies and help you grow in a professional setting. Doing this in Ireland gives you even more advantages.
Comfort zone
To get the most of studying abroad to help your career, you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Participating in an internship helps with your communication skills and you get to make local friends and meet individuals in your industry. Meeting someone there may help you get a job and start your career. It also looks good on your resumé.
The possibilities are there if you put the work in and the reward may come back as paychecks or new full-time job opportunities later on.
During your internship, you should also try to make lasting connections with your coworkers. Displaying your work ethic and your dedication to your current role and future career will develop those relationships. It is great to have these LinkedIn connections and be able to ask them to be a reference.
Resumé upgrade
The workforce is as competitive as ever, particularly for the tourism industry. It is important to find a way to make a resumé stand out against others. Being able to put down a study abroad experience on your resumé helps your chances of getting a job; also, putting down an international work experience in your field will definitely catch an employer’s eye.
When you work and study abroad it is a big achievement in completing both aspects internationally. Today many businesses operate on a global scale and having international experience makes you very attractive to these employers.
Being in tourism – a truly global industry – and having international work experience, especially in Ireland, a country known for its tourism is a huge advantage. You not only get international exposure, but the experience also adds personal growth to better adapt to challenges, and work with different people. Employers will be impressed by this.
International relations
When you work and study internationally this becomes you living abroad. The experience will help you learn from a new perspective, develop international relations and more. Your connections will be life-changing, you will meet people you won’t forget, and the skills that you learn from your internship will benefit you in your future career.
Studying and working in Ireland will take you out of your comfort zone, where truly great things happen.