The BTS CI requires the completion of two internships.

In their first year, our students will assume a prospecting mission in a company whatever its sector of activity (hotel, travel agency, automotive, …).

In their second year, the internship will be focused on export operations and procedures. Our students will learn how to export a product (it is not as simple as it seems).

This must be seen as an oustanding opportunity for our students. Below are the reasons why :

• Having work experience will allow our students to learn what skills are needed to work in an international environment. They will also learn about the day-to-day operations of a company and how it is organized and managed.

• Employers will seek to hire students with significant work experience. Internships will strengthen their skills. So the more experience they have the more likely they will get a good job.

• They will have the opportunity to discover a sector of activity and they will be able to see if this sector of activity is right for them. For instance, a student who has interned in a hotel may conclude that he wants to get a job in the hotel industry.

• Internships help them apply what you have learned in the classroom.

• Internships may also provide them with networking connections for a future job (it depends on their performance). If their internship has been successful, the company may want to hire them and give them a good position.

• As the 8 weeks internship of the first year has to be done abroad (most likely in an English-speaking environment), it will allow them to improve their skills in English (especially in spoken English). Most of our students do their internship in Suriname (the official language is Dutch but the language used for business is English) or in Trindidad (English is the official language).

We, the teaching team, strive to make the internship as fruitful as possible. That’s why we ask our students to fill in the following form in order to know if they are satisfied with their internship.

We also want to build strong partnerships with the companies in which our students have interned. This is the reason why we propose to supervisors to fill in a form to know more about how the intern has performed within the company.

This evaluation process is critical to the success of the internships. It will entice students to do their best and it will make them more efficient and satisfied.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask by contacting us by email : btscimana@hotmail.com. Your questions and your feedback are welcome.

The BTS Intl’ Commerce teaching team

Evangéline KOLOKITHAS, teacher in business studies