Human Resources Development Canada
Youth International 2000-2001

Inter-University Centre Canada (InterUniversity Centre Canada) will coordinate 10 internships with interested private sector firms in the Russian Federation and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union. Internships will normally be nine months in duration. Interns will be graduates from all fields of specialization of interest to companies active in the former Soviet Union.

THESE FUNDED INTERNSHIP POSITIONS WILL BE STARTING IN FALL 2000. APPLY NOW.


These internships will include a period of work placement in Canada for a minimum of 2 months, followed by 4 to 6 months in Moscow or St. Petersburg. During the overseas placement period, interns will work full-time, while studying the Russian Language outside of working hours. Graduates having little or no knowledge of Russian, who wish to apply for placements requiring fluency in the  language may add an extra three-month period of intensive (24 hours per week) study of Russian to the beginning of their internships, bringing the internship to a total of 12 months.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Funding by HRDC will offset costs incurred by the intern and provide a stipend. The employers must make a financial contribution in addition to the funds from HRDC. An internship is not a job, and you should not expect to come away from it rich. Having said that, the opportunity provided by YI allows you to participate at a much lower cost to yourself. YIIP will cover the cost of travel to Russia and provide a stipend, but you are responsible for the costs of your language program.

With this funding comes certain responsibilities on your part. You must sign a contract, and carry out these responsibilities. YIIP internships will only be given to people who are serious about a career in Russia or the Former Soviet Union. You must complete reports during the course of your internship, as well as upon completion. You must participate in a pre-departure briefing, as well as an interview after your internship has been completed.

PROJECT GOALS

The objective of YI is to provide out-of-school youth, unemployed or underemployed, with an internationally-focused work experience that will lead to long term employment or self-employment. 

Immediate objectives of the project are, for InterUniversity Centre Canada, to: (1) make graduates aware of possibilities for careers in the former Soviet Union, who may not have thought of such possibilities, or who may have dismissed them due to lack of knowledge of Russian language or apprehensions due to unfamiliarity with the area; (2) assist the graduates' in trying out a work placement in the area by helping them find employment and providing them with the necessary language skills and orientation; (3) assisting firms active in the former Soviet Union in finding or attracting capable graduates, whom they may wish to employ on a permanent basis; (4) providing these graduates with necessary linguistic skills and knowledge of the area.

Interns who complete the program will have a sense for the opportunities dealing with the former Soviet Union for individuals with their particular educational backgrounds and personal skills. They will experience the hardships, challenges and pleasures of working in the area. The internship will make it possible for them to reached informed decisions about embarking on careers relating to the area. It will provide them with basic skills necessary to work effectively in this environment.

Firms that employ interns through our program will have the possibility of finding graduates that meet their requirements precisely. They will not be limited to graduates who already know Russian. They will have the opportunity to get to know potential job candidates before making a commitment to hire. Interns will bring fresh ideas that might be useful to their operations, as well as providing them with extra labor force to take care of those jobs that no one in the office has time for. 

INTERN SKILLS

Living and working in the former USSR will develop the unique set of skills that are of great value and, in many cases, indispensable for a career in this part of the world. They will acquire a knowledge of the Russian language, which is not a widespread skill in Canada, as well as concrete work experience in their areas of career interest. On the personal level, the experience of learning to cope with life and work in Russia has usually been a significant growth experience for those who have participated in InterUniversity Centre Canada's programs. Each individual will, of course, also acquire personal and professional skills that are specific to his/her particular internship.


EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION

The financial crisis set off by the events of August 1998 has dampened the activities of Canadian businesses in Russia. Now is a time of sober stocktaking and rethinking the approaches of the last decade to business, political and economic reform, and technical assistance in the successor states to the USSR.  However, we believe, and our contacts in business, government, and international development agencies confirm that this state of affairs is temporary. For various reasons, this part of the world will continue to be important for Canada. The present situation and reflection upon the record of the past decade suggest that knowledge of and experience will be all the more important for those whose careers will involve them in the former Soviet area.  Based on the positive experiences of our last set of interns, what we learned about managing such a program, and our significantly increased capabilities to support our interns' employment searches believe that their employment prospects will be good.


APPLICATION PROCEDURE

1. Applicants will be required to submit an application form, a resume, a transcript from their university, and pages two and three of their Canadian passport (to verify age and citizenship). They will also be asked to provide three letters of reference–at least one from a former employer and at least one from a person who knows the applicant well enough to answer questions about his/her abilities to cope with the kinds of stresses that interns face living and working abroad, and in the conditions prevailing in the former USSR in particular. The application form will contain questions that will provide the information necessary to take eligibility and employment equity considerations into account.  Unqualified applicants will be notified of the reasons for their ineligibility.

2. Applications will be vetted by a committee consisting of InterUniversity Centre Canada's Director, InterUniversity Centre Canada's former and current Overseas Internship Coordinators, and the YI Program Coordinator, who will take account of: (a) qualifications for specific internships; (b) personal capabilities of living and working in the conditions of the internship and of the former USSR in general, eliminating those that do not meet minimal criteria.

3. Remaining applications will be sent to the pertinent employers requesting their assessment. Employers may veto applicants or express preferences. Applicants who are vetoed or about whom serious questions are raised may be eliminated from consideration. The rest will constitute our short list.

4. Interviews will be conducted with candidates on the short list. Those applicants in or near the major centers of recruitment for InterUniversity Centre Canada's language programs will be interviewed in person at these centers. Applicants not in or near these centers will be interviewed by telephone. The interviewer will complete a standardized interview form for use by the selection committee.

5. Interns will be selected by the same committee that vetted applications. All available information will be taken into account. The committee will prepare a ranked list of candidates for each internship. An intern may be ranked under more than one position.

6. Offers will be made to candidates. If a candidate turns down an offer, the internship will be offered to the next candidate on the list.

APPLICANTS: WHO ARE YOU?

We have no single type of candidate in view. To be sure, interns must meet certain. All must be capable of living and working in the former USSR, far away from home for up to 8 months. We do not believe that public funds should be spent preparing individuals for employment which they will not like and for which they are not suited. Therefore, we will be attentive to motivation that points to exotic or romantic preconceptions of the region, mere love of adventure, or escape from problems at home, rather than mature eflection upon what it means to live and work there. We will be alert to a rigidity of personality that would make it difficult to adapt to conditions in the regions, as well as to other personality characteristics that may be magnified by the stresses of this internship. We will, however, be careful not to jump too quickly to conclusions about these matters.  Some of the individuals who have benefited most significantly from InterUniversity Centre Canada's language program fitted this negative profile. Apart from these cautionary considerations, criteria will vary greatly, ranging from those for an intern working for a Moscow law office to one who will work in the fields of rural Russia or Ukraine.

APPLICANTS MUST MEET CERTAIN CONDITIONS. PLEASE CLICK
HERE

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION

Some orientation will take place during the recruitment process. Interns will share the pre-departure orientation process with other participants in the InterUniversity Centre Canada language program. There will be a half-day orientation session on the day of departure, either in Guelph or near Toronto Airport. Most orientation activities will take place in Moscow.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR LIST OF AVAILABLE INTERNSHIP POSITIONS.