FBSTI

YOUR PATH TOWARD AN INTERNATIONAL CAREER

ASSISTANCE FOR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND PLACEMENT

INTRODUCTION

The internship enables students to consolidate the theoretical knowledge and practical skills acquired during the term program in a real-life working environment.

Placements are attached to organizations and institutions that are in a position to offer students meaningful work experience. It is part of a student’s studies to find and apply for his /her internship. Institutions will offer assistance throughout the process.

FBSTI Swiss Academy will provide assistance in finding a paid internship in some of the finest restaurants around the world.

INTERNSHIP INFORMATION AND GUIDELINE

INTERNSHIP IS NOT COMPULSORY to pass the examination.
The internship program is an additional service FBSTI is providing to students.
Only students who have filled the course within FBSTI and passed will be entitled to a potential internship.
Only students who have fully paid for the course will be allowed to follow the internship classes and be taken into consideration for the FBSTI Internship Placement

Internships may be undertaken in the domestic or international context.
The placement is for a minimum period of 6 months to 12 months and will take place any time after the end of the course (depending on employers needs and immigration time requirements)

 INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENT

Students should not be married
Students must be between 18 and 30 years of age
Students should not have any criminal records
Students must have a valid passport
Students must be fully vaccinated according to the different countries requirements
Students must have certified proof of fluent English (5.0 to 6.5 minimum for IELTS, B1/B2 minimum with the CEFR)

Note:

If a student does not professionally speak English, he/she will not pass the interview with the employer and will be also refused by the immigration office or the embassy of the internship country
For some countries, immigration will set an interview before the visa process and if they think that the level of English of the interns does not meet their requirements on this matter, the visa will be refused.

Students must handle all required paperwork on time within the time frame given by lecturers, employers, and embassies. Failing on this point for any reason will terminate the internship placement

 PAID INTERNSHIP

Students should be aware that not all establishments are providing salaries.
It depends on country regulations and the policy of establishments.

However, it is the objective of FBSTI and FBSTI Internship Coordinator to make sure students get a PAID INTERNSHIP with as many advantages as possible

Example of intern salaries: (per month)

North Europe:   From 400 to 1’200 Euros (France = 599 euros)
South Europe:   From 250 to 750 Euros
Middle East:   From 300 to 750 USD
North America:   From 750 to 1’750 USD
Cruise line:  From 750 to 1’250 USD

This is gross salaries

Students should be aware that they will be subject to taxes that will be taken off directly on their salaries
They also will have different contributions that will be taken off their salaries depending on the country’s regulations.
Students will also have to subscribe a health insurance if not provided by employers (compulsory)

 INTERNSHIP DURATION

The longer the internship, the more benefits (financial and experience) students will get out of it. Students will learn during the course tricks and the right attitude to increase their revenue at work with tips given by satisfied customers.

The internship must be seen as an opportunity to experience a real-life environment and a starting point toward a new career.

THIS IS ALSO AN OPEN DOOR TO THE WORLD AND AN INTERNATIONAL CAREER.

The duration of the internship depends on the establishment policy, the country’s regulations, and the visa provided by immigration.

Students cannot choose the duration of the internship.
We believe at FBSTI that a short internship will not be of any good for the students, this is the reason why we are only looking for a 6 to 12-month internship.

 CLASSES FOR INTERNSHIP

In the early beginning of the Diploma course, students will be taught the following topics to be ready for internship placement and future career development:
This is part of the personal and professional development module

For the 8-week program, this represents 2 to 3 hours per day.

Students should be ready to provide at least 1 or 2 hours of homework every day to generate requested documents without any delay, for the lecturer to control, and for students to make corrections if necessary

Personal development:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of skills and competencies necessary to succeed in the job application process.
Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of continued personal development in achieving their academic and vocational objectives.
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and components of the communication process.

Written communication:

Verbal communication: 

Presentation skills
Speaking in public
Job interview
Personal presentation
Question handling ability

Personal development:

Self-reflection
Self-management
Flexibility, handling changes

Personal development profile and planning

Set yourself goals & Prioritize those goals.
Set yourself deadlines for when you want to achieve them.
Recognize threats and opportunities.
Develop your skills or increase your knowledge.
Use your support network.
Measure your progress.

Handling professional and personal media:

Facebook, youtube, google, WeChat, Line, VK,….
And professional: LinkedIn, Hosco, …

 OPPORTUNITIES STUDENTS WILL GET FROM A SUCCESSFUL INTERNSHIP

We are teaching and explaining to students during classes the importance of doing well during the internship, having the right attitude, going “the extra mile” that will make them better than any other staff members, and also the best way to get attention from managers and directors.

This will lead the students to large numbers of opportunities

With the recognized quality of our courses by global professionals and with an international work experience student will position themselves in better places to get higher and better work opportunities.

The hospitality industry is one of the rare industries where students can travel the world along their careers.

It is also an industry that is in tension right now and has difficulty recruiting staff, this is making it easier to find a job all over the world and have job security over time. (for the young wishing to work they will never be out of a job, there will be always a position for them.)

If the student follows our advice and gives the work and attitude above expectations of the employer, the student will gain a better chance of getting:

From their internship employers, a permanent job in the company, and even a promotion. (quite a large number of our students in the past did receive a full-time position and a work permit for having shown their employers all the extent of their capability and involvement.)

The possibility to apply for any international work availability or jobs being proposed by any companies worldwide.

Students wishing or obliged to return home, then they can expect to find management responsibility work, in responsible positions within high-standard establishments.

They may even be ready to open their own restaurant business.

PROCESS DURATION

Students should be aware of the following important points:

There is no way that students get their internship straight away after the course. The course is not long enough for that. The average time to find an internship is 3 to 5 months (as long as the visa process is not longer.)

There are some variable points which we cannot control:

Employers:

Employers may want to wait to receive all candidate application files for an intern position before making their decisions.
This could take several weeks to several months.
Employers also do not look to fill positions immediately, they are looking for interns to replace the ones who have a contract that will finish within the next six months or more, or for the coming of the following summer or winter seasons

As an example, French Man’s Creeks in Palm Spring USA start taking applications from January to Mai for intern positions starting in November., they are making decisions in June each year.

Summer positions in Europe are already fully filled at least 3 to 6 months in advance

Students will send CVs and cover letters to potential employers.
After a few week, potential employers may decide to have an interview with the students that will be fixed a couple of weeks later.
Potential employers might take time for a final decision and take time as well to provide a working contract. (IN AN IDEAL WORLD!)

Students:

We need at least 2 or 3 weeks of internship courses before students are able to fulfill all documents that will be required by potential employers. We have to make sure students will be ready and fully prepared. CV, Cover letter, social media, …internship research, … This is also taking into consideration that a lot of students do not take it seriously and are always late to hand in their documents.

Visa process and Immigration:

Depending on the country, the process can take from 1 month to several months from the time where all documents have been submitted.
If students do not submit properly all documents required by immigration, their application will not be taken into consideration and a visa will not be granted.

For most countries, an internship visa must be done in the embassy from the home country.

INTERNSHIP ADDITIONAL COSTS WHICH MAY OCCUR

The following are the costs students might have additional to the course for their internship which will be at their expenses:

Visa and Immigration Office:

Interview at the embassy: The immigration office of the internship country may request the intern to come to the embassy for an interview at the expense of the intern or to collect a visa physically

Visa cost:

Depending on the country, may vary from 20 USD to 750 USD

Bank statement:

The intern, for most countries, will have to provide a bank statement for the last 3 to 6 months to justify that interns can cover the living costs in the country (at least until the first salary is paid)

Flight:

The plane ticket is not always covered by the employer Rare are the employers who offer to pay the plane ticket FBSTI internship coordinator will try as much as possible to find these employers who offer this service
Depending on the destination and country of origin, the plane ticket could turn out to be very expensive.

Interview:

Not all interviews are taking place online,
Some of employers might come to Thailand for recruitment,
But in some rare cases, the interview will have to be physical, and the intern will have to take a flight or train to reach the place.
If not provided by the future employer, then the intern will have to bear the cost of traveling.

Accommodation and transportation:

Accommodation may be provided by employers free of charge, or accommodation may be provided by employers but rent will be taken off the intern’s salary.
In some cases, Interns will have to find and pay for his/her accommodation. Transport from accommodation to working place will be at the expense of the student.
NOTE:
Internships in the capital or large cities, accommodation will mainly not be provided and may cost a lot.
To find cheaper accommodation students will have to rent a place far away for the working place which involves important daily  transportation cost

Taxes:

Students will have to pay taxes and different national contributions which will be taken off their salary.
Employers announce salary in gross and may differ from the net salary students will receive
This may vary a lot from one country to another one

Insurance:

Students will have to be covered by a health insurance
Depending on the country, the home country insurance may be enough, sometime travel insurance might be necessary, or students will be imposed a national insurance from the country where the internship will take place.
Price depends on age, coverage, gender
It is an important point, without insurance and if a doctor, medicine, or hospital is needed for any reason during the internship it will be then at the expense of the student and can be extremely expensive.

Meals:

Meals may be provided by employers free of charge
Meals may be provided by employers but fees for them will be taken off the intern’s salary
Most of the time, employers do not provide meals on days when the intern is not working, intern will have then to organize his/her meals during time off and cover the cost for it.

IMPORTANT:

ADDITIONAL COURSE FOR CRUISE LINE AND SUPERYACHT PLACEMENT:

We do understand that cruise lines and superyatchs are very interesting for students.
High salaries, most of the time good tips, traveling the world in heaven destinations, little possibility to spend their salaries and make great saving for the future!
this could be the perfect world, your dream world.

But to access those internships and those jobs students will have to pass an additional exam, the STCW 2010, compulsory to work on sea.

The course is taking place in Phuket (south thailand) and cost around 45’000 THB (between 1’200 USD to 1’300 USD). the course will take 5 days.

Some cruise line may provide the course but living costs will stay at the expenses of the students

Sponsor or local internship coordinator

In some countries around the world students will have to use the help of local coordinators and visa providers.
In some countries like the USA, students will need a local sponsor to access a visa. And for some countries where students want to go, we will have to use some local internship coordinators who manage all from their local office (employment, interview, sponsors, contract, insurance, traveling, and visa process)
As an example, a J1 visa and sponsor provider for the USA charges from 1’000 to 3’500 USD, a work and travel visa provider for Australia may cost from 700 to 1’500 USD,

CONCLUSION

The good part is that the industry is now in tension to find employees and will be more open to covering part of the cost students might have. The Middle East is the best destination as they are taking care of the expenses, the USA might be expensive but it is worth it as salaries are higher and tips are better.

The price given might be suggest to changes depending on the world situation and due to galloping inflation which many countries have to face (rising cost of energy, rising cost of raw materials, …)

The restaurant and tourism industry is one of the world’s largest, most diverse, and most exciting industries. It is vast, offering a large variety and a high number of careers across the globe.

The restaurant industry is a growing business, ideal for students wishing for a secure and a successful future. The restaurant industry offers large and fast opportunities for evolution and promotion better than any other job.

With our professional training, students will become fully qualified and capable of offering service to customers that meet international standards and expectations of establishments around the world.

All together with our inspiring lecturers, we will provide our students with all the knowledge, the skill,s and the ability far above the needs of the industry with the idea of facilitating their integration and quickly jump toward a successful and profitable career.

STUDENTS MISBEHAVIOR

FBSTI will not be held responsible if a problem occurs with placing one or several students
Despite our advice and teaching classes on this topic, if students do not behave properly due to lack of work during classes or on purpose, students will be expelled from the internship program.
Students will not get an internship before the end of the course.

If students get an internship and visa before the end of the course, they will have to finish the course.
If the student does not respect this point, then employers will be contacted and the employment agreement will be canceled, the student will not be able to apply for an internship anymore with FBSTI.
Students who have been expelled from class by the academic team for any reason will not be able to apply for internships anymore.

All that information sounds not so good, but it is important that FBSTI protect its reputation and not get potential employers, companies, and immigrations from the countries we will deal with, disappointed by students who do not play by the rules.
it has become regular to have students who don’t care about the course, the training we provide and come just to get a visa in a country to flee their own country. we have had in the past, like a large number of universities, students who as soon as they obtained their internship visa disappear into the wild and do not give any news. it makes the employers and the immigration offices very angry and it also destroys any possibility for us to send other students to those countries or to those establishments for the future.