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Business Internship Program (BIP)

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The Queen’s School of English Business Internship program allows you to study English and gain work experience in Canada. We are one of the few Universities in Canada to offer a program where you can study English and gain work experience at the same time.  We work with a wide variety of campus and community employers so that we can offer a diverse range of unpaid placement opportunities. The primary purpose of this program is language education and cultural experience in the Canadian workplace context.

Queen’s School of English (QSoE) created this program specifically for students who wish to improve their English language skills by practicing in a Canadian workplace context. Students will build their English language skills in the classroom and put those skills in to use in a workplace environment. The internships available are entry-level and ideal for post-secondary students and recent graduates. 

Length of Program:

• 13-week program

Requirements:

• Program participants must have a minimum TOEFL score of 71 iBT (530PBT/197 CBT) or 670 TOEIC to enter the program.
• Students with a higher English proficiency level will benefit from learning professional etiquette and appropriate workplace oral communication.
• Current QSoE students should achieve high standing in either ESLA 140 or ESLA 150 to be considered for the program.
• Home country work experience preferred
• Students are required to have both Study and Work Permits to enter this program.

Curriculum:

• 1^st 4-week period takes place in classroom (25.5 hours per week)
• 2^nd 3-week period is transitional: half-days in class (15 hours/week) and half-days in work placement
• 3^rd 5-week period consists of time solely in the workplace
• Program ends with a final week in the classroom
• QSoE staff will visit you regularly at the workplace
• Interns will be matched with the best available work placement; the School cannot guarantee a specific field.

General Types of Workplaces:

• Hotel – customer service including front desk
• Hotel – behind the scenes including food service
• Restaurant/bakery
• Athletics (Gym and/or Personal Training)
• Sports bar/pub
• Travel agency
• Veterinarian’s Office
• Tourism information office
• Campus computer store
• Campus library
• Conference centre
• Coffee shop
• Sports team
• Business program – office
• University department – office
• Employment services – office
• Immigration office
• Other  (special requests are welcome but subject to availability)

By the end of the program, successful students will:

• look for, apply for and be interviewed for a job
• write cover letters, resumes, professional emails, letters, envelopes, memos, and reports
• communicate on the telephone, including calling, answering, and leaving and taking a message in a workplace setting
• give formal presentations
• participate in workplace meetings
• understand Canadian employment culture, including health and safety concerns and human rights issues
• relate to employers, coworkers and customers professionally
• build and expand professional vocabulary with the necessary tools  

In addition, successful students will:

• gain approximately 227 hours  of Canadian employment experience
• receive a letter of recommendation from a Canadian employer

Please note: A minimum number of students is required for this program to run.

Additional Information for Students:

• Internships are unpaid.
• Placement matches are based on individual student interests and skills and availability of work placements.
• Students are provided with job descriptions for their placement matches prior to starting their internships. Each unpaid position is unique and involves different tasks and responsibilities.
• Students are expected to treat their internship with the same degree of professionalism and seriousness as an employee of an organization

Additional Information for Workplace Hosts:

• Organizations will benefit by having committed, reliable unpaid student interns join their team
• Organizations will gain international workplace perspectives and diversify the workplace
• The opportunity to form long term professional relationships that go beyond the internship program
• Organizations who are interested in participating in this valuable program are welcome to contact us at soe@queensu.ca