internships-and-work-placement-opportunities-for-international-students-in-victoria-ieaa-report-october-2012

Volunteer placements and service learning as elective placement
Many providers are now embedding service-learning programs as electives. Melbourne Business School
offers the Volunteer Business Practicum that is open to all students as an intensive 3-4 week program
during semester break in February or July. The WIL volunteer program is also available to students to
undertake an unpaid volunteer activity (up to 80 hours) with a not-for-profit organisation.
All parties involved viewed international students gaining work placement in the volunteer sector as a
win-win outcome. The volunteer sector stresses the importance of training and supporting a volunteer
workforce. Volunteer placement may offer a unique pathway for an international student to build
skills they can then apply in the corporate context. Placement in community based organisations also
enables international students to engage with the local community in a way that may not have been
previously possible.
Mandatory placement
Many of the stakeholders interviewed during the study were of the view that internships and work
placements would need to be made mandatory if a significant expansion of them were to be
achieved. Where placements are mandated, participation rates are high. This is clearly problematic
however. Not all industry sectors require a qualifying internship. Moreover placement may not be
guaranteed (see below).
There are also other challenges and tensions: some practical, some statutory. For example, many
programs in Victorian universities that include mandatory placements find it necessary to include home
country placements in order to meet students’ needs. At the same time, under Victorian regulations, VET
placements have to be conducted within Victoria in order to be compliant.
At two Victorian universities, international students are excluded from undertaking formal WIL
placements. This is informed by two considerations. The first is an interpretation by these universities
of the National Code Part C that in their determination prohibit work placements unless they are
mandatory (see p. 14). The second is a view that there are limited places for internships and that a
placement cannot be mandatory if a place cannot be guaranteed.
As a consequence of their understandings of the National Code requirements a number of VET
institutions and universities have created two courses – one with a mandated work placement/
internship and one without. For example, William Angliss TAFE offers both VET and higher education
qualifications for the tourism and hospitality sector. The Diploma of Hospitality is offered in two ways, with
the second option including a further semester of mandatory placement. Enrolments in the program
requiring a mandatory placement are capped at 75 students per semester and include a student ratio
requirement of 50:50 international and domestic students. One full-time Industry Placement Coordinator
is responsible for all aspects of student placement.
Internship Placement Work Experience overseas/ in home country
Many institutions offer international students the option of completing their internship and work
placement in their home country. Students source their own overseas placement and complete this
as part of their course with prior approval of their academic adviser. Growth in global volunteering
and internships also means that more activities are being undertaken offshore. Victoria University has
identified an opportunity to engage with international students who return to their home country during
holidays (December–March). Victorian University actively encourages international students to use this
time more effectively by engaging in purposeful career readiness activities. Victoria University is also
trialling a Career Passport program to support global learning.
Developments outside institutions
During the audit process, two important developments were identified outside institutions impacting on
internship and work placement activity. The first is the growth in third-party service providers who support
students in gaining internships and work placements. The second is the introduction of government
sanctioned post-study Professional Year programs in the accounting, computer science and
engineering disciplines. The two developments are interrelated. Professional Year programs are usually
delivered through third-party providers and include an internship.
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