EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
Helping to build the local workforce of the future Has your business thought of offering internship opportunities to MIT – Te Pūkenga students? It’s a great way to help develop talented locals while introducing different perspectives and skills to your workplace. Irshad Ali is a director of Transparent Digital Media, an online marketing agency, based in Springs Road. The fast-growing company founded two years ago specializes in social media advertising and has recently moved towards content production. “MIT reached out to me. We hadn’t worked with interns before and we said let’s take one on board and see what happens,” he says. Manukau Institute of Technology School of Business connected Transparent with Caitlin Puffy, a final year student in the Bachelor of Applied Management programme majoring in project management. The placement allowed the 22-year-old Manukau resident to complete an industry project that is part of her qualification while helping the company get a new platform aimed at the property market off the ground.
MIT School of Business student Caitlin Puffy, an intern with Transparent Digital Media
permanent part of their eight-strong team. “She’s still working on Property Reels,” says Mr Ali. “Now we’ve started putting more resources behind it and hope to have a launch function in a couple of months. We’ve got lots of different clients. She’s now in a co-ordinator role acting as a bridge between the clients and our services.” When you provide a placement opportunity to an MIT student, they are supervised by one of our team of experienced lecturers who oversee their industry project.
needed the guidance. I shared the vision of what we were wanting to achieve. She was motivated. Eager to learn. Put her hand up.” MIT has been serving the region for more than 50 years and recently joined Te Pūkenga, a nationwide network providing vocational education which represents the country’s largest tertiary institution. If you’re interested in finding out more, contact Recruitment Consultant, Maureen Prasad at Employmentsolutions@ manukau.ac.nz
Business School senior lecturer Tania Parker met up with Caitlin once a week to discuss how she was applying the skills she had learned in class to the workplace.
“When I started the internship, I was coordinating the new Property Reels. It offers a videography and photography agency for estate agents,” Caitlin explains.
“Caitlin’s project went really well. She was easy to supervise. You’re getting local people,” Ms Parker says of the benefits to companies in placing students. “They know current practices. They have a wide skillset. Our learners allow a business to think outside the box more.”
“They can get their social media up to standard, get their listing on the website, a profile and badges will unlock perks for them,” she says.
Irshad Ali believes supportive workplaces with the time to really develop their graduates into the employees of the future get the best results.
The firm was impressed enough with what Caitlin achieved that she is now a fulltime,
“You have to set the right expectations,” he says. “Caitlin was eager to work but she
Business East Tāmaki
Caitlin at work with Transparent Digital Media
25