Reflections from our summer interns

The Ministry’s summer internship programme provides a great opportunity for tertiary students to gain practical experience working within a central government agency.

In November last year, five interns joined us at the Ministry. The three-month programme offered them hands on experience working in a government setting. With this year’s programme now drawing to a close, we asked the interns to reflect on their experiences. Here are some of their perspectives:

The programme aimed to help our interns grow professionally and gain insight into how we function as a central government agency:

“This internship has provided me with a valuable and in-depth understanding of the public service. It's been exciting to see the behind the scenes work that the public often isn't aware of, such as the level of collaboration needed to ensure the public receives accurate and clear information,” says Caitlin.

“The internship has provided me with a better understanding of how central government really operates and how the people working in the public sector really want to help improve society and serve others,” says Shivaansh.

We encourage our interns to gain practical experience and immerse themselves in the Ministry’s work.

“Working as part of the regulatory reviews team and contributing to the hairdressing and barbering industry review has been particularly interesting. I’ve also enjoyed seeing how public feedback directly influences outcomes in the review process, as well as the problem-solving process involved in addressing real issues raised by real people,” says Clara.

“The exposure to the Public Service has been incredibly rewarding, and I’ve gained valuable insight into the behind the scenes work that supports public facing decisions. It’s been fascinating to observe the extensive communication with a rage of stakeholders and how it shapes policy outcomes,” she added.

Across the board, our interns mentioned that working with professionals with such strong academic backgrounds and plenty of experience was one of their biggest takeaways from the internship opportunity.

The internship programme has been a win-win. They’ve benefited from the learning experience, and we’ve had the benefit of our five intern’s dedication, curiosity, and enthusiasm. They have made a meaningful contribution to the Ministry’s work. We may have ignited New Zealand public sector career paths for five smart young people, which is a great outcome.

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