Giant US aerospace and defence group Boeing on Thursday announced that the application period for its International Business Internship Programme (IBIP), which is now open to South African students, will start on June 6 and close on July 15. This registration period for internships that will run from January to July next year.

“The students will be provided with US-based work experience and will prove extremely valuable when they return and invest their new skills to the benefit of South Africa,” highlighted Johannesburg-based Boeing MD: sub-Saharan Africa and director of commercial airplane sales for Africa J Miguel Santos. “Having Boeing on your resumé could be a launching pad for your future career.”

Full-time university and technical university students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, can apply. People who have graduated within the past 12 months may also apply (this excludes anyone who graduated in May 2016 or earlier). They must be studying business-related disciplines such as accounting, finance, human resources, industrial engineering, information systems, management, marketing, and strategy.

The applicants also have to be academic high-achievers, have first rate communications skills and interpersonal relationship capabilities, and be able to both display leadership and work as a member of a team. The internships are paid. Applications can be made through the career advice offices of their respective universities – Boeing will provide them with information brochures.

The IBIP commenced in 2012. Two South African students, both from the University of the Witwatersrand, are participating in the current full-time programme, which ends in July.

The programme exposes the students to the latest developments in business and technology, and in thinking, across a number of areas, including the aviation industry, business operations, finance, marketing, and strategy. They will also work with Boeing employees, meet with Boeing leaders and visit some of the corporation’s factories. They will also encounter other IBIP interns from other countries.