Compare Apprenticeships and Internships

The significance of having practical experience when entering a career, is so important to helping students or learners move successfully into a career with confidence to be able to negotiate all of the regulations and options available.

What Is the Difference?

Both apprenticeships and internships are programs that help people develop skills that are needed to succeed at a job and cannot be learned in a classroom environment. “Both programs help a learner or apprentice to gain not only interest in the field that they are moving into, but also get exposure and develop interest in their filed of choice”. “It helps future artisans understand what it takes to work and what it looks like in a variety of different challenges that crop up.” The two programs differ in several ways.

Duration of the practical varies considerably between the two programs.

  • Internships (work term)
    • Tend to spend less time at a work place.
    • Often are not involved in the work that is so crucial to the experience they are meant to gain.
  • Apprenticeships
    • Generally last from 1 – 5 years depending on the field or trade that a learner will be following
    • It is also interspersed with periods of training that could be a part time technical course that helps with the technical aspects of the career they are following.

Compensation

  • Internships/Work term
    • The companies that Students go to for their practical training may or may not offer any compensation.
    • Students may have to obtain credits for specific task to support their college work and the final certification.
  • Apprenticeships
    • Here the apprentice gets technical training and practical experience doing work.
    • They would normally be supervised by a qualified artisan and starting with more of the menial work, while progressing to their final exam and contract end.
    • An apprentice will normally start with minimal wage and the company is responsible for the technical training portion of the program too, each year or section in the process could have financial benefits as their skill increases to full potential.
    • Additional courses may be included and also gain a greater financial remuneration.

Goals

  • Internships
    • work to get the required experience to find work
    • work to get the required credits at a university or College.
    • They will also get exposure to a work environment and possibly from different companies as they serve their time at different workplaces.
  • Apprenticeships
    • help the apprentice to gain real world practical experience in specific skills required to perform in their chosen field of work.
    • They could possibly be employed in the company that they spent their time with, and help with future apprentices.
    • This is a very different work/learning environment than just schooling.

Which program is best for you?

  • Internships
    • Designed for those that want to attend a university and still get work experience
    • have the available funds or academic grades to qualify for a bursary
    • some colleges and schools may help, or you may need to get help through people that are already involved in this program
  • Apprenticeship
    • Great for people that want to leave school in order to work in a certain field or industry.
    • It is designed for those that may not have the funds to attend a full university
    • This program pays while you learn
    • provides work and the technical training needed to perform the required skill.
    • To gain a certificate that proves competency in the field of choice.
    • This is the surest way to prove and demonstrate your skills.

In America they use the word College for what we in South Africa call University and Trade School for Apprenticeship.

Finding these programs

  • Internships
    • Schools
    • Colleges
    • University
  • Apprenticeships
    • Freedom Shaper
    • Trade schools
    • Many government or corporate positions include this option.