Investing in our future generation workforce is key, and hiring interns is a great way to fill the future talent pipeline. 

There are many different internship options available to employers through which to hire students, but there is one in particular which is often overlooked; hiring interns whilst they complete the final year of their degree to work for your business remotely and part-time. 

It's not uncommon for students to have spare time during the final year of university and increasingly students want to make use of this time preparing for their future career instead of sleeping in. My experience working at Henley Business School in the Henley Careers team showed me that students frequently want to continue the 9-5 working day structure into their final year. Without the full 40 hours of the working week required to study, this leaves spare time to earn some money and fill gaps on their CV ready for graduation. Furthermore, a part-time role is likely to even enhance their degree studies, particularly a business-related degree. 

What are the perks of this internship option?

1. The student is able to earn money doing a more fulfilling and valuable role than a typical student job

2. The company is investing in the future workforce in a time and cost-efficient route to hiring graduates - it's a year-long opportunity to check for both parties that it's a good fit

3. The company can choose to make the number of hours flexible per week to suit the student and the business requirements

What are the critical things to make this successful for both parties?

1. When interviewing the candidates, ensure that you make it clear that honesty and communication are critical skills for a mutually successful relationship when working remotely and flexibly 

2. Consider how will you onboard the intern and keep them engaged remotely. Do they need to come to the office once a month, for example and tie in a social activity to this

3. Who will manage the intern's time, to ensure that they are being fully utilised and not overworked, and that their skillset is being used

4. Give the intern the option to say no to work when they have too much university work on - as long as they tell you immediately

This internship option works well for both large and small businesses. The key to success is in hiring the right person and in the planning of the work the interns will be doing.