Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Every career has to start somewhere, and increasingly students are opting to do unpaid – or not highly paid – internships to kick-start their working lives. KATE HOLMQUISTmeets some students who are interning this summer

Gary Timpson, managing director of film animation company Kavaleer Productions believes interning has replaced the traditional job interview. Several key employees at his company started out as interns and he says Kavaleer, whose cartoon Garth & Bevis distributed worldwide by the BBC, thrives on the “fresh air and enthusiasm” that young interns bring. “The crazy thing is that a lot of the interns are not green – some are quite advanced in their skill base and become indispensable.”